Halton Borough Council scooped top honours at this year's
Computer Weekly-sponsored Local Government IT Excellence Awards,
which were presented at the Society of IT Management's annual
conference in Birmingham yesterday.
The council's Benefits Express service impressed the judging panel
with its unique approach to processing benefits claims.
By using a complete mobile online office, GPRS communications,
digital cameras and laptops linked to Halton's benefits system,
staff are now able to update records online and process benefits
claims directly from people's homes. The service means claims can
be processed on the day of application - a process that used to
take more than two weeks.
The runner-up in this year's awards was Liverpool City Council for
its Integrated Children's Services/Children's Community Index
project. Launched in July, the multi-agency Integrated Children's
Service provides a single point of access to all council services
for children and families in Liverpool.
Highly commended awards went to Surrey Partners for its
e-Recruitment pathfinder project and Leicester City Council for its
Disability Information and Communication Network.
Now in their eighth year, the Local Government IT Excellence Awards
are organised by the Society of IT Management, the Society of Local
Authority Chief Executives and suppliers' body Intellect.