Surrey News
Innovation
VIDEO: Artificial intelligence project wins funding
Surrey County Council is among a group of local authorities that is set to receive £80,000 from the Local Digital Fund to look into using artificial intelligence and chatbots to help deal with people’s enquiries. Further information can be found here.
Surrey Waste Partnership win award for innovative recycling project
The Surrey Waste Partnership (SWP) has been recognised by a leading industry body for work that is helping Surrey residents who live in blocks of flats to recycle more. The partnership’s flats team won the Team of the Year prize awarded by the Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee (LARAC) at its 2018 celebration awards. Working … Continue reading
Surrey’s Leader calls on residents to have their say on county’s vision
David Hodge issues final call for Surrey residents to set out their views for the county’s future ahead of online survey closing on 3 September.
Surrey County Council appoints three new Executive Directors
Surrey County Council has appointed three new executive directors to its top team following the appointment of Chief Executive Joanna Killian in March. Jason Russell and Michael Coughlin will become Executive Director for Highways, Transport & Environment and Executive Director for Customer, Digital & Transformation respectively, having taken on the roles as interims in recent … Continue reading
Surrey leader unveils new Cabinet team
Surrey County Council Leader David Hodge today unveiled his new Cabinet team. John Furey is the new Deputy Leader with Colin Kemp taking over responsibility for highways. Newly elected county councillor Tim Oliver will cover property and business services and Denise Turner-Stewart will oversee the communities portfolio. Below is a list of the new Cabinet … Continue reading
Deal to connect public services on course to save £3.5 million
Surrey County Council is on course to save £3.5 million after spearheading an initiative to replace scores of networks with just one. The authority handed BT a seven-year contract to create a single computer and communication system for a host of public services in Surrey and Berkshire in 2012 using cloud technology. Now Surrey has … Continue reading
Four councils sharing legal services to save £1 million a year
Plans to bring together the legal operations of four South East local authorities with the aim of generating savings of £1 million annually within three years have been signed off. Surrey County Council, Brighton and Hove City Council and East and West Sussex County Councils have given the go-ahead for what is thought to be … Continue reading
Surrey emergency services win national improvement and efficiency award
Fire, police and ambulance services in Surrey have won national recognition for their partnership working to help save more lives. They won the ‘working together’ gold award at the annual Improvement and Efficiency Awards which celebrate new ways of working across the public sector. The judges commended Surrey Fire and Rescue Service, Surrey Police and … Continue reading
Minister welcomes case for Three Southern Counties devolution
Leaders behind the devolution bid for three of England’s strongest performing counties have outlined to Government how their plan would boost growth for the region’s residents. Communities Minister Baroness Williams heard the proposals for how East Sussex, Surrey and West Sussex would work together to help tackle the congested road and rail network, pioneer new … Continue reading
Paperless billing set to save councils and businesses hundreds of thousands
Surrey and East Sussex have joined forces to launch a paperless billing service that will save the two county councils and businesses hundreds of thousands of pounds a year. The new electronic system, which is expected to be introduced next month, cuts costs by automating most of the invoicing and payment process. Using the technology … Continue reading
Deputy leader helps launch Surrey space centre
A new space centre, which will be used to send four satellites into orbit this summer, has been launched by Guildford-based Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL) with the help of county council deputy leader Peter Martin. Mr Martin said: “The facilities are really are out of this world and I have no doubt they will be the … Continue reading
Cabinet Officer Minister praises council
Surrey County Council has been named an ‘Open Data Champion’ by Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude for its digital approach. He named Surrey as one of 16 champions nationally at an event looking at the role of the ‘local authority of the future’. Openly published data can be used to create applications that provide better … Continue reading
Treasury officials visit Surrey
Caption: A delegation from the Treasury has visited the county council to learn more about how innovation is being driven forward across Surrey. The seven-strong party was joined at County Hall by David Clark from the Public Service Transformation Network to hear about an initiative that has improved the lives of more than 400 families and a … Continue reading
Council wins award for UK’s best local government website
Surrey County Council’s website has been named the best in local government across the UK. It has won the Best Website Award from the Society of Information Technology Management (Socitm). Socitm said the site – found at http://www.surreycc.gov.uk – was “a joy to use” and also praised Surrey for embracing the growing public demand to access … Continue reading
Pioneering autism centres to open in Surrey schools
A groundbreaking scheme between Surrey County Council and the National Autistic Society (NAS) is set to revolutionise the education of children with autism. Thanks to a tie-up between the county council, the UK’s leading autism charity and the Cullum Family Trust, four high-achieving mainstream schools are set to get the county’s first-ever centres focused on educating … Continue reading
