Councils have exceeded previous information and communications technology (ICT) savings forecasts by £40m, new research has found.
The report by Kable Market Intelligence found local authorities had managed to deal effectively with financial cuts in this area.
Kable’s research director Alan Mo said: ‘Although ICT departments are not immune from the need to find internal efficiencies and reduce their operational costs, the expectations and needs of service users are changing, and this will drive councils towards introducing technologies to support new ways of engaging and delivering services to citizens.’
The research also found that growth in the local government outsourcing market had slowed but that a ‘significant proportion of spend is still channelled through these contracts’.
Mr Mo continued: ‘A growing number of local authorities are kicking off consultations to re-evaluate the way they operate, which involves considering not just what services they need to continue to deliver, but also the delivery method.
‘But the local government market has certainly become tougher for outsourcers, especially as councils are adopting a much tougher stance in the renegotiation and re-procurement process, with some opting to take services back in-house.’