Council saves money by keeping workers out of the office

A COUNCIL is fighting the credit crunch by allowing its officers to work away from their headquarters.

Harrow council says it will save £300,000 by giving 65 housing officers laptops so they can work without coming into the office. The council says it will save money, cut commuting time and free up office space. It has bought 65 £1,100 laptops as well as mobile scanners so that its housing officers can go directly to work in the community.

Housing staff start their remote working this month and will be able to access email, scan documents and add information away from the office. Officers can fill out requests, have them signed by clients, scan documents and email their team leaders for a quicker decision.

Residents will have a unique reference number, enabling an officer to access their files online. All communications are encrypted and no customer information will be stored on the laptops.

As part of the pilot, the council will scan one million pieces of paper and 12,000 documents. Harrow aims to be the first authority to have scanned all its documents by 2012. The pilot begins with housing but will be rolled out to other services if successful.

Councillor Barry Macleod-Cullinane said: "The pilot will save the council money and improve service quality."