£7.5 million fund for councils' digital innovation

Local Government Minister Rishi Sunak has revealed that councils seeking to transform their public services through digital innovation can now apply to a new £7.5 million fund.

The LocalGovCamp event in Birmingham learnt that grants of up to £100,000 will be available for projects which demonstrate they benefit local public services and have the potential to be rolled out more widely across the country. The fund will also be used to provide digital skills training for at least 1,000 staff working on digital solutions at councils.

The announcement follows the government’s ‘digital pledge’, backed by the £7.5 million of government funding with the launch of a Local Digital Declaration in July. The declaration aims to connect the work of local government digital teams to deliver better local public services.

Sunak said: “Digital innovation is re-shaping our lives, and many local authorities are at the forefront of embracing technology in ingenious ways to improve services for the public. Whether it’s an app to report fly-tipping, or a slick web solution to pay your council tax, we want to know the best ideas so we can help to make them happen. I would also like to encourage councils to sign up to our Local Digital Declaration, so we can all support each other and build on each other’s work to revolutionise public services.”