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Communities and Local Government

Government Connect:  Promoting partnership in the service of transformation.

With the transfer of Government Connect (GC) to DWP, Communities and Local Government continues to actively support the GC programme, seeing it as a key enabler in the transformation of locally delivered services as envisaged in both the Strong and Prosperous Communities (2006) and the Communities in Control (2008) White Papers.  GC was nurtured through its formative years by Communities and Local Government, working with DWP and Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council, as the lead local authority partner. As a result of this collaboration GC is now at the forefront of deploying new technologies in support of service transformation and secure data handling.  

CLG’s ongoing investment and support of GC is enabling the programme to play a pivotal role in helping to deliver the Service Transformation Agreement vision of improved online working between local and central government.  In support of this CLG and its partners, have established GC as a strategic local/central partnership with the active participation and support of the Local Government Association and Local Government Delivery Council.  Alongside this CLG is working closely with the LGA, SOLACE and SOCITM on developing local government guidelines on data handling so as to ensure that local authorities can maximise the exploitation of GC in support of their own data handling and service transformation plans.

Likewise as part of GC’s current roll-out phase across local authorities, CLG and its partners are working together to establish of a series of test sites providing the basis for early collaborative working between central and local government service providers.  It is intended that over the next three years an increasing number of LAs  that have  installed their GCSx connection will look to be  involved in test-bedding and piloting cross-government applications that will support the onward development of the following capabilities within local government.

• Rationalised and speedier online performance management and financial reporting between LAs, Government Offices, CLG and other government departments and agencies.
• Speedier, more secure and cost-effective benefit payments to citizens with the establishment of a secure link between LAs, DWP and HMRC systems on House Benefits, Tax Credits and “In & Out” of work processes.
• The extension of single sign-on facilities for the users of online LA and wider public services via collaboration between the GC network, the Government Gateway and the Identity and Passport Service.
• Development of a possible pan public sector “Tell Us Once” - change of circumstance facility on birth and bereavement.
• Enhanced child protection through the adoption of end-to-end secure online authentication for local government caseworkers, teachers and other trusted parties to ensure speedier, more accurate reporting, and case handling for children at risk.
• Enhanced central/local connectivity so that local authorities can eventually have secure access to central government systems such as the Cabinet Office’s Civil Contingency messaging service and the Borders and Immigration Agency verification systems.
• Development of shared secure mail capabilities between LAs and the Criminal Justice IT and NHS Connecting for Health networks.