Harlow Council to give tablet computers to councillors

TABLET computers will be given to members of Harlow Council in a bid to reduce the cost of printing and sending council papers.

But, the move has been criticised by the Conservative opposition who say that tablets are not designed to handle large numbers of documents.

The Labour-run council say the equipment is being supplied to all 33 councillors as part of an on-going contract with O2 at no additional cost, however the authority says it is spending £48,500 on IT equipment and software across to meet Government security requirements.

Leader of Harlow Conservatives, Cllr Andrew Johnson said: 'This may sound like a move to modernisation, but the tablets will be the only source of information for councillors at home and in meetings.

'Tablets can be very useful for some activities, but not for handling large numbers of documents, being able to annotate them, store them or cross reference to other papers.

'I have serious concerns that members of planning committee will not be able to adequately prepare for meetings, with complex maps and plans only visible on a tiny screen. The same goes for trying to analyse large financial spreadsheets. Where has the consultation been on this issue? Has it really been thought through properly?'

The council says it prints more than 160,000 pieces of paper every year for meetings and the agenda and reports are posted or in some circumstances hand delivered to councillors.

By providing tablets the council estimates it will save £32,000 a year on printing costs; however it will still provide paper copies of agendas and reports to members of the public and press.

Leader of Harlow Council, Cllr Jon Clempner said: 'Due to Government security rules, Councillors IT equipment, which had come to the end of its life, had to be upgraded. The cheapest way of doing this was to issue tablets, rather than buy new laptops. For Councillors this will also enable them to not have printed copies of reports/meeting minutes, both saving thousands of pounds in printing, paper, postage and energy, and reducing the impact on the environment.

'Essentially tablets mean councillors can access council information and documents and respond to residents at any time of the day as always the council is seeking to minimise costs, and take the right long term decisions. We are always asking for officers and services to work more efficiently and that is the same for councillors. These tablets are not a luxury for Councillors they will simply help all Councillors meet the demands of their role.'

Cllr Joel Charles, Deputy Leader of Harlow Conservatives, added: 'It looks like the Labour Party are investing in a vanity project rather than using taxpayers' money to improve council services.'

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