Haringey to join Islington and Camden Councils' shared ICT services agreement

The three councils hope to save a total of £6m a year with shared IT services agreement

Haringey Council is to join Islington and Camden Councils' shared digital and ICT service agreement.

Islington and Camden signed an agreement back in September, which aimed to save the councils a combined £4m a year once fully operational, with a "one off" cost of £5m. The shared service was scheduled to be operational by next month.

Both councils had been under pressure to reduce their IT expenditure, having estimated that they will need to deliver combined savings totalling £185m by 2018/19. The shared ICT services agreement was an attempt at making some of those savings.

And now, a third north London council wants to be involved in the partnership. The addition of Haringey Council would involve a more ambitious programme of change, potentially saving £6m a year across the three boroughs, Camden Council suggested. The costs and savings of the project would be shared equally between the three boroughs.

Under the proposals, a joint committee made up of representatives from all three councils will meet in public to oversee the service. In addition, a single post will be created to lead and manage it - in much the same way that Ed Garcez leads the Tri-borough shared partnership as its CIO.

If all the councils accept the move, then recruitment for a head of service will take place in late spring. The launch of the shared service would then move back from April to 1 October 2016.

Islington Council's executive member for finance and performance, councillor Andy Hull, said that he was "delighted" that Haringey wanted to join the partnership, adding that it made sense for local authorities to work together to deliver services as government funding cuts are hitting councils across the country.

Councillor Jason Arthur, Haringey Council's cabinet member for resources and culture, said: "This exciting partnership with Camden and Islington has the potential to help Haringey deliver excellent digital services that will make life easier for residents, whilst at the same time saving money and protecting more of our budget for other key areas."

Camden Council's cabinet member for finance and technology, councillor Theo Blackwell, suggested that in future the joint service may also be able to generate income for all three councils through selling its combined expertise.

The decisions on whether to proceed with the proposals will be made by Islington Council's executive on 10 March, Haringey Council's cabinet on 15 March, and Camden Council's cabinet on 6 April.