A council’s computer system for keeping track of adult social care cases is so old and outdated that users have to waste time typing some of the same information into a different system.
Now, Milton Keynes Council is about to bite the bullet on spending “in the region of” £700,000 for a five-year contract on a new IT system.
The precise amount involved, and the name of the company in the running for the contract, is being kept under wraps until after a meeting next Tuesday. One cabinet councillor, Hannah O’Neill, is due to make the all important decision.
A report to Cllr O’Neill, who decided to go out to tender last October, says the current contract for the Frameworki system was only awarded until 2013. However, further extensions have proved unfeasible because the system is “no longer being developed or supported” by the supplier.
Last year Cllr O’Neill was told the old system “no longer meets the strategic needs of service delivery for adult social care which includes the requirement for new technologies to support mobile working.
“Milton Keynes Council is one of only six councils remaining on the current Frameworki system.”
It also does not include the payment of providers or the billing of service users. This means that “all information is currently rekeyed into an associated finance system causing delays and potential errors in process.”
The estimated contract value in October included a one off capital cost of £300,000 and an operating cost over five years of £442,000.
Of seven potential suppliers who responded to a “supplier selection questionnaire” five sent in bids for the business. Of those, two were ruled out, leaving three to go through quality checks, which two did not pass, leaving one company.
Cllr O’Neill has been recommended to consider her decision next week with the press and public excluded because it involves information relating to the financial or business affairs of the council.
