Warwickshire News Mine

Cabinet Office Minster, Pat McFadden MP, announced the award winners at a ceremony at the Savoy Hotel on 17 January.

The Warwickshire Direct Partnership, an exciting joint venture involving all six local authorities in Warwickshire, has been working together to ‘join up’ information and advice on a variety of council and other services, enabling residents to access them when and how they want to.

The Partnership won the e-Government National Award for its hard work in putting into practice a shared system for managing public enquiries and requests about council services, and the positive results that this is delivering. 

The awards are the highest level of commendation for the best e-Government services in the UK, which improve citizen and business transactions with councils, central government departments and other public sector organisations.

The Warwickshire Direct Partnership won the award for e-Government Excellence in Shared Services, which was sponsored by O2.

Councillor Trevor Russel, Chair of the Warwickshire Direct Partnership and Deputy Leader of Stratford-on-Avon District Council, said:  “The Partnership is one of the best examples anywhere of councils – in our case, six – working closely together to deliver shared services to improve customer access and achieve real efficiencies and savings.

“It is a model for partnership working – both in Warwickshire and nationally – and it’s extremely encouraging we have received national recognition.”

Councillor Peter Fowler, Portfolio Holder for Performance & Development, Warwickshire County Council, said: “I’ve been greatly impressed with the work of the Warwickshire Direct Partnership, so this award is well deserved.

“An improved shared system that is effective and increases the speed with which public enquiries are dealt with is good for the public and for local authority staff. We’ve all signed up to improving customer access and this is a positive step in the right direction.”

This year’s award winners were chosen from a record 345 nominations submitted by councils and organisations across the UK’s public sector.

The aim of the Warwickshire Direct Partnership is to help speed up the modernisation of council services by providing economic and efficient solutions that are of real value to Warwickshire’s citizens.

Link to WCC