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The 2008 Exemplar Award for the National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG) âBest Business Transformation', recognises the steps the Council has taken to improve its frontline service provision which have been facilitated largely by the continual evolution of its public facing website. The annual Exemplar Awards for Local Government are presented by the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) and Intelligent Addressing.
Making the most of Council held information to transform service delivery has been central to South Tyneside Council since 2004 and this is demonstrated particularly well through the continued evolution of its website. At South Tyneside the focus has been to improve frontline services both through the service centre but also through the website, the lowest cost route. The website is a good example of data sharing with information pulled from all the council's major systems linked by the property database (NLPG) to provide citizen focussed results. Personalising the data facilitates and encourages online transactional activity, such as reporting a broken streetlight or an abandoned car.
Website maps, implemented in 2004 are very helpful in locating everything from a Doctor's surgery to a Recycling point. In 2005 planning information was added and it's now a simple process to find out the status of a planning application in the vicinity of one's home. In 2006 personalisation was enhanced with the introduction of 'My South Tyneside' and in 2007/8 the Council added 'My Nearest' and 'My Alerts'. Now typing in any part of an address takes the visitor to a new screen with details of their property then makes it really easy to find the information a citizen might be looking for. The 'My Alerts' service now makes it even easier for citizens to get information from the Council. By signing up for the 'My Alerts' service a citizen will receive automatic email alerts whenever there is something happening close to where they live such as road works, a change of refuse collection day or a new planning application.
John Hayes, Director at the Improvement and Development Agency, said as he presented the award "It is clear that South Tyneside Council has really embraced the eGovernment agenda by taking an evolutionary approach, transforming its own internal business processes to deliver substantial savings and efficiencies while improving its frontline service provision. The use of the NLPG to facilitate truly personalised service provision via its website is a triumph of simplicity with some unique features."
29th October 2008
Notes to Editors:
The NLPG was initiated in 1999 to become the master address dataset for England and Wales and the central hub for the 376 address creating Local Authorities and their Local Land and Property Gazetteers (LLPGs). Based on unique property reference numbers (UPRNs) the underlying principle of these gazetteers is to provide a single definitive ad dress database for all departments and systems across a local authority in order to cut costs, improve efficiency and service delivery.
The dataset enables various local authority departments - from revenue collection and environmental health, to social security, the electoral roll and education - to now offer true 'joined up' government. The benefits also go beyond service delivery. Fraud prevention, tax collection and disaster planning all benefit from the fact that each property is given a 'Unique Property Reference Number' which transcends (property) numbers, names, descriptions (such as 'The Nursing Home') and postcodes. UPRNs are assigned for the full life of the plot and/or building.
The project was given a significant boost in 2005 with the introduction of the Mapping Services Agreement, which committed all Local Authorities to bringing their gazetteers up to standard and to start submitting regular updates to the NLPG hub for use by national and regional organisations. Collaboration with DNA-S (Definitive National Addressing for Scotland) who use the same BS7666 processes and database schemas means that a British addressing infrastructure is now a reality.
Intelligent Addressing is a specialist private sector consultancy (an SME) employing recognised experts in addressing. It was originally set up to help develop the National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG) on behalf of local government and now manages the NLPG and NSG central data hubs under the terms of the Mapping Services Agreement (MSA) with local government.
Intelligent Addressing contact:
Gayle Gander, Head of Marketing | 0207 747 3500 | E-mail: [email protected]
Editorial enquiries and colour separation requests:
William Allbrook | T: 01666 826641 | F: 01666 824668
The Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) The IDeA works in partnership with all councils, to enhance the performance of the best, accelerate the speed of improvement of the rest, and develop the sector as a whole. IDeA has brokered the Mapping Services Agreement (MSA) with Intelligent Addressing to develop the NLPG and NSG, through the Local Government Information House (LGIH), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Agency.
Working in partnership with the local government community developing national infrastructure projects that enable councils to deliver local services more effectively, LGIH acts as an intermediary between the public and the private sector enabling it to negotiate with private companies on behalf of local authorities in order to provide key parts of a technical infrastructure for improved service delivery.
The NLPG is a joint venture between the Information House and Intelligent Addressing Limited.
IDeA contacts:
Paul Bailey | 020 7296 6600 | Email: [email protected] | www.idea.gov.uk
