There’s a common perception amongst the public about the role of local councils: many only think of them when they empty bins, maintain roads or remove litter. But in reality, they play a much more integral role in our daily lives.
Local councils make up the fabric of the communities we live in. They provide over 800 services and make decisions about housing, local businesses, education, fire services, adult and child social services, and libraries. Often, we will feel the impact of their decisions more than those made by the central government.
In England, over one million people work in local government, all of whom strive to grow and refine the communities they’re elected to serve - but it’s not an easy task.
As we find ourselves amidst a cost-of-living crisis, councils face rising demands from their public to improve services; they must do so affordably, sustainably, and flexibly. Thankfully, at Ingram Micro, we have innovative solutions for these issues.
The first, and arguably most contextually significant obstacle, is affordability. Councils receive their funds from multiple sources: government grants, business rates, and council tax. In 2019/20, the latter formed a shocking 50% of their spending power, whilst government grants constituted only 23%.
The ‘spending power’ of local authorities (their available funds from these three sources) has fallen by 16% since 2010, predominantly because of reduced government grants.
The UK contains multiple councils, each of which receives a small fraction, which explains why they have limited budgets to spend on vital technological equipment like desktop and mobile devices to help employees do their jobs.
At Ingram Micro, we can attach components and accessories to these devices to improve their functionality and expand their lifespan. This technology helps councils save money, limiting the frequency with which they need to pay for new equipment when the former becomes unfit for purpose.
Additionally, Ingram Micro Financial Services helps councils to spread the cost of necessary devices over a specified period - this improves their ability to budget and makes payments more manageable.
The government isn't just duty-bound to provide public goods and services for their communities - they must also ensure that the things they implement are sustainable, especially given the increasingly fraught and urgent context of climate change.
The responsibility for sustainability predominantly lies in the hands of local councils. For instance, each one must ensure that new housing developments in their area follow guidelines of sustainability and efficiency, limiting future traffic pollution and conserving resources.
Over the last 17 years, 30 local councils have risen to this challenge by introducing sustainability principles and weaving them into communities.
Sustainability is at the heart of what we do at Ingram Micro, and we can help to support local councils in their efforts to operate as sustainably as possible. We offer innovative IoT solutions to monitor and manage a wide range of activities performed by local councils.
We are a leading global provider of IT Asset Distribution (ITAD) to help our clients avoid risk, complexity, and cost when disposing of assets that have reached end-of-life. We follow detailed data destruction and e-waste processes that meet the highest environmental and legislative standards, so councils can rest assured they’ve disposed of their items correctly.
One issue lies at the heart of all of this: flexibility. If local councils want to achieve the results that they need sustainably and for a low cost, they must be able to adapt. At Ingram Micro, we know that IoT technology is a crucial enabler of this adaptability.
It’s no secret that, like many other industries, local councils face staff recruitment and retention issues. In August 2022, more than half of councils reported inadequate staff numbers to support the running of services – so it’s more important than ever for technology to alleviate this pressure and provide automation and efficiency in many applications.
These solutions can also save councils vast amounts of money and resources, helping to remedy the issues of affordability and sustainability.
For instance, as weather conditions sharpen over winter, a crucial concern for councils will be frost and snow on the roads. They must continually monitor road surface temperatures and weather forecasts, deciding when the right time is to deploy gritting lorries.
Traditional stations that measure these conditions run on power and cellular data, meaning they’re inflexible and can only span a certain area. But innovative IoT technology offers a bespoke solution: multiple sensors with probes inserted into the road, providing accurate visualisations and temperature readings of the road.
This technology resolves flexibility, affordability, and sustainability issues all in one. Councils can monitor the entire road network; therefore, they only use grit where it’s needed, saving money and resources.
If you work with a local council, these issues will sound all too familiar, so Ingram Micro UK would like to help. Our expert team can talk through your customers specific requirements and find a solution with proven credentials in similar applications.
If you want to learn more about how we could help you navigate the obstacles of affordability, sustainability, or flexibility, contact us via phone at 0371 973 3000 or through our website: uk.ingrammicro.eu/contact