Shared IT project aims to cut costs for authorities

Eight Yorkshire local authorities and four police authorities have joined forces to create a public services internet, Yorkshire and Humber Public Services Network (YHPSN).

Backers hope it will save “many millions” of pounds in slashing duplicate costs.

Most public sector bodies, from fire authorities to health trusts, currently buy network and computer services individually. However, shrinking budgets are forcing them to look for savings by sharing services.

YHPSN project director Geoff Prowling said: “We’ve got to take cost out of what we are doing; that’s the opening gambit.”

Mr Prowling said the aim was to get Yorkshire and the Humber region’s entire workforce of around 530,000 public sector staff onto the network.

He said so far Kirklees, Bradford, Calderdale, Leeds, Wakefield, Sheffield, Doncaster and East Riding councils, together with South, North, West Yorkshire and Humberside police authorities have joined the board of YHPSN.

It will be one of the biggest such networks in the country when complete next year, he added.

“A Leeds adult social carer could potentially be in a hospital visiting a client and need access to their system,” said Mr Prowling. “If there was a wireless system in the hospital they could get access to the client’s social care records. It could be done seamlessly.”

Graham Stokes, Wakefield Council’s Cabinet member for corporate performance said: “It has the ability to deliver significant savings in the coming years in terms of networking and communication costs.”

Robert Oxley, campaign manager at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said sharing services could be a good way to reduce costs but many government IT projects had a sorry history of being over budget.