A pioneering collaboration between two Welsh local authorities and Gwent Police will be formally launched this week with the signing of a landmark agreement between the three organisations.
Torfaen County Borough Council, Monmouthshire County Council and Gwent Police have combined their distinct ICT services to create one shared function serving the three organisations.
The innovative collaboration, known as the Shared Resource Service (SRS), will deliver significant efficiency savings for the partners through economies of scale and an increased availability of ICT expertise. These savings will then be re-invested, helping the partner organisations to protect frontline public services.
The signing of the agreement marks the latest step on a journey that began in 2010 when the three founding organisations agreed to merge their ICT services as part of their commitment to transforming local public services and delivering efficiency through innovation.
The SRS has been quickly recognised as a model for successful public service collaboration in Wales.
Its team of ICT specialists delivers technical and infrastructure support for partner organisations ranging from web design and development to server management, data hosting and mobile services.
The SRS is based at a £3million Shared Resource Centre in Blaenavon, one of the most digitally connected buildings in Wales and home to three state-of-the-art secure data halls. Wales’s First Minister Carwyn Jones opened the centre earlier this year.
The successful integration of the teams and potential for expansion is bringing new jobs and a skilled workforce to support the local economy and regeneration of Blaenavon, while the enormous interest in the facility from public and private sector organisations has already seen the service draw up plans for expansion.
In the latest development of the service, Torfaen and Monmouthshire councils have agreed to create a business arm called SRS Business Solutions, which will offer services to the private sector.
Councillor Bob Wellington, leader of Torfaen County Borough Council, said:
“This agreement shows our region is ready and willing to meet the challenge of change by delivering efficiency for our taxpayers through innovation.
“Blaenavon was the cradle for the industrial revolution, and now we’re embarking on another revolution, a journey that is taking us from coal to computers to create Wales’s first Digital Valley.
Councillor Peter Fox, leader of Monmouthshire County Council, said:
“It really is a momentous day that signals the commitment the three organisations are making to deliver public services differently. Focus is on delivering value for money, quality services and enabling real and visible improvements for residents, the local economy and the region as a whole.”
Chief Constable Carmel Napier, Gwent Police added:
“This collaboration will enable the exchange of skills and capacity and deliver economies of scale. It provides an innovative and efficient solution for the organisations involved.”
