Local Government Chief Information Officer Council

1. Terms of Reference

• To strengthen the credibility and influence of Local Government CIOs and the Society of IT Managers (SOCITM) in the development of national 'transformational government' strategies, policies and initiatives;
• To work with and support the activities of the National CIO Council, providing a local perspective and challenge;
• To increase 'join-up' between local and national initiatives around Government IT, providing a two-way communications route between local and central government;
• To identify and influence national groups and programmes which reflect priorities of local government IT, including the Local Government Delivery Council;
• To strengthen IT-enabled local public sector partnership working, including shared services, information assurance and the development of IT professionalism programme for Local Government.  In particular, to work collaboratively to remove barriers to effectively exploit technology to increase services quality and improve service efficiency;
• To influence the development of  Local Authority technology infrastructure and service standards to accelerate the joining-up of public services at a local level;
• To influence IT suppliers, identifying opportunities for new and innovative methods of engaging with the private sector;
• To develop a costed work programme with clear outcome and performance measures for the Council, to be reviewed each year as a publicly available performance report.  This includes developing an overall vision and roadmap for local public service transformation through technologically enabled change.

2. Governance Arrangements

Membership to be  drawn from SOCITM members ensuring there is a national representation from all authority types and regions, including devolved administrations.

Any role or action that the LG CIO Council undertakes arises from being supported by the Cabinet Office through authority of the National CIO Council. At the appropriate time, formal endorsement of the creation of the LG CIO Council will be sought from the Local Government Association. Close liaison will also be essential with the Local Government Delivery Council.

3. Meeting Frequency

The Council will meet three times a year, typically just before the National CIO Council, with secretariat provided by Socitm.

4. Membership

A list of members can be accessed here.