Sir – Councils in England were warned recently that there was a danger they could run out of money. This is tough news; councils are faced with an increasing need to find savings, but this often leads to a reduction in front-line services. Perhaps there is another way?
I would suggest that councils should explore the available savings of improving the efficiency of their IT, rather than simply making service cuts. They may be surprised with the results.
Managing social care payments is just one area where significant savings can be made. We know this first hand, having worked with various councils to develop a sophisticated card management system to distribute care payments with greater efficiency and transparency, leading to immediate cost reductions.
Councils may well have different requirements but what’s important to remember is that there are cost-effective, non-disruptive and compliant technology platforms available to suit each individual requirement.
It is saddening to think that front line services are being cut in order to make savings that could be made elsewhere using technology.
Hayley Moran
Director, Aquarium Card Management Solutions
