Bassetlaw Council installs 13 video conferencing
units
A Nottinghamshire council has given members of the public access
to its services and those of other public sector bodies in the
region through video conferencing units.
People living in remote areas covered by the local authority can
get benefits advice from council employees without travelling to
meet them in person.
Bassetlaw District Council, which took the lead on the project,
also enables people using the system to request services from seven
other public sector and not-for-profit organisations.
The project – called Bassetlaw Information Services
Communicating Using IT (Biscuit) – received £215,000 from the Legal
Services Commission to pay for 13 video conferencing units to be
set up and maintained for three years.
IT managers at Bassetlaw Council were awarded a further £70,000
from the government’s New Opportunities Fund to continue the
project’s work.
The units have been set up in remote villages in properties
owned by either the council or one of the bodies that support the
Biscuit project.
Users are presented with a touch screen that they can use to
select a service provider. Users speak directly to employees at the
head office of the district council or one of the other service
providers.
Documents and forms are available for completion on the units’
screens. People can sign documents electronically, and any
documents that need to be submitted can be scanned.
The units take photographs of the people using them to enable
citizens to apply for council services that require photographic
identification.