A supplementary edition of nations and regions news, which appears in Socitm’s annual magazine, In Our View, with recent stories from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and every region of England.
Scotland
Glasgow City Council has published a digital strategy for 2024-30 that prioritises organisational change and includes missions focused on a fair digital society, an inclusive digital economy and sustainable and innovative digital public services.
Wales
The Global Centre of Rail Excellence will host a Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) Internet of Things gateway for Neath Port Talbot Council, as part of the Swansea Bay City Deal’s digital infrastructure programme.
Northern Ireland
Derry City and Strabane District Council has taken part in a hackathon on empowering financial inclusion through technology at Ulster University’s Derry-Londonderry campus, organised by the area’s RegTech Supercluster.
Republic of Ireland
Limerick City and County Council has opened a new podcast and vodcast studio at its Innovate Limerick Engine building for individuals and companies that need office space and facilities in the city.
North-east England
Sunderland City Council is testing an app that can alert users based on their location and interests, such as telling those who are interested in culture what exhibitions are on when they walk past a museum.
Yorkshire and the Humber
Sheffield City Council is among local authorities warning the public about fraudulent text messages claiming to be from the council which tell recipients to pay a penalty parking charge using a link.
North-west England
Preston City Council will be a founding member of Preston Digital Cooperative, which will promote digital inclusion in the city through free Wi-Fi and development of digital skills, using £5.2 million of central government funding.
East Midlands
Derbyshire County Council has moved from an on-premise SAP ECC enterprise resource planning system to a cloud-based version of the supplier’s newer S/4HANA software, which director of digital Leonard Tantari says will be more secure and has new functions.
West Midlands
The West Midlands Combined Authority and Solihull Council have installed sensors that detect cyclists 20-30 metres away from crossings and move the signals to green faster, to give them a smoother journey.
East of England
Essex County Council is recruiting a director for its new Essex Digital Service, which the council is forming from its service transformation and technology support teams, with a salary of £145,225.
South-east England
West Berkshire Council has introduced a function allowing residents to report planning regulation breaches such as building an extension or changing properties without permission through its digital planning service.
South-west England
Devon County Council has stopped using social media service X due to abuse, disinformation and cost, with cabinet member Andrew Saywell calling the service “a very toxic place”. It is focusing instead on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.
London
Bexley Council is introducing SocietyWorks’ WasteWorks residential waste portal, allowing residents to report missed bin collections when crews have completed rounds using integration with in-cab systems.
For links to press release pages of local authorities in the UK, Republic of Ireland and Crown Dependencies, view Socitm’s local authority press release directory.