A Case of Recognition
On Mon 14 March it was announced by Government Computing that Lancashire County Council’s ‘Client Access to Secure electronic Systems’ (CASeS) had been short listed in the ‘Government to Citizen’ category of the national BT Awards for Innovation 2005.
CASeS is supplied to Lancashire CC by Birmingham based IIZUKA Software Technologies.
CASeS is a groundbreaking solution to the modernising government challenge of providing citizens with knowledge of personal information held by their public authority.
Since April 2004 Lancashire County Council Welfare Rights Service has been able to give their customers direct access to their case records using web technologies - a national ‘first’.
CASeS is inherently confidential and easy to use. Citizens can log on to their personal file via a home PC or use the computer facilities at their local library, a council kiosk or even their web enabled mobile phone.
CASeS also allows welfare benefit advisers in branch offices, or even people’s homes, to use laptops to view the information held back at main office.
‘There are a number of reasons why it is a very positive step for us to give customers the choice of viewing their own information in the comfort of their own home or in a local library. In time we expect efficiency gains because it will cut down the level of enquiries made by people just wanting to know the progress of their case’ says Jim Dickson, Head of Welfare Rights Service. ‘Long-term CASeS will deliver up all personal information from other departments and services, both within and without the County’
The BT award judges must have noted some important achievements for the council such as cross agency sharing of information, better working conditions for staff and compliance with legal requirements at less cost.
‘We believe the technology is fit for the 21st century and that we are in the vanguard. We hope that where we are leading others will follow and recognise the benefits for themselves and their customers’ says Alex Walker IT Development Officer.
‘We are thrilled to hear that Lancashire has been successful in achieving the short list of one of the IT industry’s most prestigious technology awards’ commented Greg Hayes IIZUKA Managing Director, ‘Government authorities need to prove that IT has a positive side and can give citizens more control over personal information being held and the services being provided. Perhaps this award will help highlight just how effectively CASeS has helped Lancashire county council accomplish that goal’.
