Local authorities should take a long-term approach to IT use by reducing operational costs rather than responding to tightened budgets by "salami slicing ", according to a report by local authority IT body Socitm.

The paper, entitled ICT, resourcing and transformation – Doing more, better, with less, argues that authorities that invest in radically different approaches to delivering public services will reap rewards in the long run.

It also argues that local authorities must recognise that IT can enable new ways of working that can dramatically reduce costs.

While Socitm believes the government's Operational Efficiency Programme (OEP) is right to focus on the scale of the cost-reduction imperative, it says the report ignores the value created by IT and the need for a change in management culture if ongoing savings are to be achieved.

The OEP was set out alongside the Budget in April and found scope for annual savings of up to £3.2bn in IT use across the public sector.

"While this potential has been talked about for some time, the results delivered by ‘transformational government’ activity and spending to date have been disappointing, something the government’s recent OEP report equally fails to address," the report says.

Socitm says the OEP lacks detailed guidance on how to reduce IT expenditure at a local level and applies central government rules to local government.

The Socitm paper says that past failures should be used to provide lessons on leadership, development and implementation of IT programmes in local authorities.

Authorities should measure the value that IT is generating for the business, look at the potential for sharing IT resources and services, and improve the amount of services online.