£21m for new Shropshire Council computer system is approved

Shropshire Council approved the move at a full council meeting yesterday, where members were told "doing nothing is not an option".

Councillor Michael Wood, portfolio holder for corporate support, said it was essential the council agreed to go forward with its ICT Digital Transformation programme, which will re-design how the council delivers services and manages operations in a bid to make its services easier and more cost-effective.

He said: "Doing nothing is not any longer an option. Now is an opportunity to provide that new way of forward thinking, and that modern council.

"Some of our technology is now 15 years old and held together by bits and patches on the side to keep it going.

"Some of our younger technology is about nine years old."

Councillor Wood said the new system would help bring all of the council's information into one integrated set up.

The report, which was discussed at the meeting, said it could bring in a financial benefit of £36 million over a five-year period.

The new system will use cloud-based technologies and an integrated platform for all systems. The transformation programme will focus on social care and back-office systems, to enable the council to transform the delivery of services.

But Councillor Duncan Kerr, for Oswestry South, said the council had failed to manage the previous system correctly, and should not splash out a further £21million to solve the problem.

Church Stretton and Craven Arms councillor Lee Champan said that these problems were caused by failure to integrate systems and information – something the new system would fix.

The plans were approved along with the financial implications.