Tuesday, March 10, 2009

New computers for councillors?

We are finally getting some movement on the issue of the years old IT provision that Liverpool City Council expects your councillors to use to represent you.

You will recall that I have blogged about this before, here and years ago when I was first elected - but I cannot just find the entry at the moment. (Prize to the one who does).

Anyway, they seem to be caving in and we have now been asked to give details of our current provision so that they can get us new stuff.

At bloody last!

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

as a council employee Louise ( and I assure you lots of us read your blog) I'll bet you a shiny 50p peice that you dont get your new laptops any time soon

The councils deal with LDL for IT is an absoulte disgrace and should be exposed

There are several departments of LCC that circumvent LDL by using petty cash to buy the smaller I.T hardware. better £10 for a mouse from petty cash than £28 in the coffers.

scouseboy said...

Of course, all councillors need up to date I.T. to carry out their function effectively. However,
I hope when Labour take control of Liverpool in 2010, one of the first things they do will be to get a new I.T. contract, and kick into touch the current one which is taking the council taxpayers of Liverpool for a very expensive ride.

Anonymous said...

Sinclair ZX Spectrums all round Hurrah Hurrah Hurrah....things can only get better...

Anonymous said...

http://louisebaldock.blogspot.com/2007/03/support-for-new-councillors.html

also saw the pat molloy training scheme blog and how optomistic you were in 2006, role on April 2010...

Anonymous said...

http://louisebaldock.blogspot.com/2009/01/liverpool-city-councillors-it-equipment.html

Do I get the prize?

Louise Baldock said...

Hello Jan, whose post I inadvertently deleted, and Steve, thanks for finding my earlier post. I am glad I did write it and was not imagining things!

Later posting from "Anonymous", you have certainly found a post about this, but I think it is the one I have referred to in this entry.

Earlier posting from "Anonymous", who is a different person to the earlier one - cannot you even make up some nick-names to describe yourselves so that I can comment between you? - you may well be right about our ability to get this council to provide any IT equipment without a further cost to LCC.

It seems to me (and you may quote me on this if you choose to refer me to the Standards Committee, go on make my day) that LCC has not been sufficiently questioning about and within its relationship with LDL and has allowed some contracts to be progressed without undue concern for "value for money" or for quality outputs.

Don't even get me talking about Careline, it would be the longest blog in living memory.

But leaving all that aside, if I get a laptop to use at home that is not steam driven, I shall be happy.

And if when I occasionally log on from the Labour Group Office (the tiny office expressedly for the use of Labour Councillors) I am able to access my emails and the internet and my stored documents quickly, rather than the 20 minutes we are currently running at, I shall feel better able to represent my residents and respond to their concerns!

Cheers, Louise

Louise Baldock said...

And I would say to the first "Anon" poster, if you are telling the truth in that LDL are charging the council £28 for a mouse, we should be putting cheese in traps!

Anonymous said...

I think I told anonymous 1 the mouse story but it was only £25 when I told it, thats called inflation. The best one I got was a headteacher of an un named primary school pointing out all his office IT equipment had to go through LDL compared to the rest of the school and on average the LDL equipment like for like is 30% dearer, VFM for someone not sure who though, teh rottweiler maybe.

Anonymous said...

£700 charged to move some computers and printers to the neighbouring room was the worst I ever heard.

It is perhaps the worst contract ever signed in this city.