Only 3% of councils are using G-Cloud – the government’s framework for procuring cloud-based services – according to the results of a new survey.

The survey of senior local government staff, conducted by Unit4, also found that a third (34%) admitted they didn’t know what G-Cloud was. Security was the main reason for not using it, with half saying this was the greatest barrier to adoption.

Unsurprisingly, nearly all senior council staff (98%) said reduced funding was the biggest threat to their organisation over the next year. The majority (80%) said implementing new technology would be the best way of bridging the funding gap.

Nearly two-thirds said shared services would help address this funding challenge, and 63% think business transformation will be a key priority.

Mark Wilson, interim managing director of Unit4 for the UK and Ireland, said it was encouraging to see that senior management in local government could see the strategic role technology has to play.

‘Shared services have also rightly gained traction over the last few years as councils seek to maintain services despite funds falling,’ he added.