Lisburn eGovernment project judged one of UK's most innovative

A Lisburn City Council project designed to speed up the property conveyancing process electronically has been rated as one of the most innovative eGovernment initiatives undertaken by any district council in the UK.

The council won the commendation at a ceremony in Birmingham to mark the inaugural Consilium District Council eGovernment Innovation Awards.

Sponsored by Consilium Technologies, the Antrim-based supplier of IT solutions for Local Government, the awards are the first to be aimed specifically at UK district councils. They are supported by all leading local government organisations in the UK, representatives of which judged this year’s finalists.

Lisburn’s project has reduced the time required for applicants - normally solicitors involved in conveyancing - to receive property certificate information by making use of the Internet. The council deals with approximately 2,500 such cases each year. The recently introduced service is the first of its kind to be provided by any council in Northern Ireland and it is regarded as a ground breaking development by the Law Society which promotes the use of IT to provide greater efficiency within the property transfer process.

According to Peter McHugh, Business Development Director of awards sponsors, Consilium Technologies, the initiative has uncovered many innovative projects delivering real benefits to citizens across the UK by using technology in an innovative way.

Mr McHugh said: “Naturally, we’re delighted that a local project was among those singled out by an independent judging panel in which we had no say. Lisburn has achieved a lot on a very low budget by simplifying its property certificate service and by making it available during out of office hours.

“By drawing attention to this type of innovative approach through the award scheme, we believe we’re playing our part in helping to engender a more competitive environment and to stimulate more rapid and widespread adoption of e-government initiatives right across the UK.”

The overall winner of this year’s Consilium award was Swale Borough Council in Kent for a customer service centre project which has resulted in a 26% improvement in user satisfaction ratings.

The Consilium District Council eGovernment Innovation Awards are supported by the Society of Information Technology Management (SOCITM), the institute of Public Finance (IPF), Intellect and Solace.

(SP)