Last month I gave evidence to the Science, Innovation, and Technology Committee in Parliament. I haven’t written much about it because you can watch it yourself here.
I thank the committee for inviting me to speak, and its members for their insightful questions on how technology has improved service delivery.
Since my appearance I’ve been asked a few times what I think was the most thought provoking question or comment the committee made, and it’s perhaps not the one you think it might be, so I’m writing about it here.
That comment was from Kit Malthouse MP and was in relation to using digital technology to improve waste services, and in particular the use of household waste recycling centres, otherwise known as rubbish tips.
The comment was:I don’t even benefit from that, because I am not a resident. They are just over the border, you see, which is why we have to pay £9 to go to the tip. West Berkshire residents get it for free.I replied that changing this would be a finance or waste management decision.
This is because most councils don’t allow residents living in neighbouring districts to use their tips for free. It happens because they’re funded largely from council tax, so if I use my local council’s tip I’ve already paid towards it, but that’s not the case with neighbouring council’s tip, even if it might be closer to me.
With redesigning the state in mind I’ve since thought about this, and a different approach to this.
As a response to the Coronavirus pandemic most councils introduced appointment booking at their tips, and due to a general desire from residents, kept it in place afterwards.
What this means is most people are used to booking to use this service (the vast majority online) and there’s a record of who used each tip and when, and where they live, or to be less precise for our purposes, which council area they live in.
There are examples of a more joined up approach to regionally operated public services. When I book a train ticket through one operator, it might actually be a number of train operating companies that are providing the service, depending where and how long my journey is.
This is possible because ORCATS or the Operational Research Computerised Allocation of Tickets to Services which is used for real time reservation and revenue sharing on tickets between train operating companies.
It’s been around since the 1970s, and I understand it runs on an old mainframe, which is not without issues, but it does show that the technology to move funding between providers of regional public services for use at the point of delivery has existed for around 50 years.
So now booking is in place, why not a similar national approach for tips?
Being able to use your local tip, whoever it's operated by, would reduce travel and therefore pollution and carbon emissions, potentially increase recycling rates, and maybe even reduce fly-tipping, as well as just making life easier for people.
Thinking more widely, why couldn’t a similar approach be used for other services that are delivered in person by councils?
My original answer still stands; it’s a finance or management decision for two councils to agree on the use of their facilities, but a comment about a £9 fee highlights an opportunity to re-imagine how we deliver public services in a more joined-up, user-focused way.
We have the digital infrastructure, public appetite, and clear environmental and social benefits, but even with motivation at a local level, it would need a national initiative to make it happen to look beyond local boundaries and deliver services around people’s lives and locations.
