Hampshire County Council plans to save on IT expenditure in 2011

The Hampshire County Council, as part of a plan to deal with a £55 million hole in its 2011/2012 budget, is willing to save on its IT expenditure in 2011 through the reorganisation of its IT units and the reduction of external contract costs.
 
As part of its expenditure control, the council will have to eliminate 1200 IT jobs and improve its productivity through better use of IT. No option seems to appear to the council as the withdrawal of government funding to meet the national debt, force them to take such radical measures.
 
A £1 million saving is also expected through improving support and administration functions and enabling more employee self-service. Moreover, an association with Dorset County Council to develop a joint ICT strategy has recently been announced and is expected to save between £2 million and £5 million in IT costs over the period 2011/2014.
 
As part of the deal, they will share computer centres as well as technical expertise and technical services. There will also be a continuous assessment of possible savings on major IT systems, shared contracts and a joint support and service desk.