Capita supports Spelthorne with app for its residents
Spelthorne Borough Council has hired Capita to deliver a multi-purpose smartphone app to its residents. The app provides its residents with an additional channel through which they can find relevant information, arrange their needs with their council, as well as have access to news and leisure activity.
Spelthorne is a local government district and borough in Surrey, England, consisting of Ashford, Laleham, Shepperton, Staines-upon-Thames, Stanwell and Sunbury-on-Thames, covering around 98,100 constituents. In a bid to improve the service propositions offered to its residents, and optimise demand across channels, Spelthorne Borough Council has engaged Capita to support it with the delivery a multi-purpose smartphone app.
The free app provides a wide range of functions to residents, including information, to allow users to learn more about council services such as bin collections and parking; as well as make payments and report graffiti, antisocial behaviour or dog fouling. Further, the app can be used to access job vacancies and keep up-to-date with local news, events, travel and weather; and finally, the app allows users to find their nearest leisure centre, doctor, recycling centre or library.
Councillor Joanne Sexton, Spelthorne Cabinet Member for Communications, explains the reason for launching the app: “Mobile apps are changing the ways that customers purchase and use services. Residents increasingly expect to be able to access information and services from their council digitally, and Spelthorne needs to meet this demand in order to improve service delivery, increase channel shift and reduce costs.” So far, the app has already produced a 10% reduction in calls to the council.
The app is based on the Engage platform developed by Capita Software Services, which enables organisations to deliver services, transactional tasks, updates and much more to customers via a free app on their Apple, Android and Windows smartphones. “Engage is hosted in the cloud and is totally configurable. With no need for coding knowledge or in-depth technical experience to set up, users can develop and publish an app quickly and easily, making it ready and available for customers,” explains Paul Millard, Operations Director at Capita Software Services. This allows the Spelthorne app to create a “user-friendly experience, meaning customers can subscribe to and use the services they want to make their lives easier.”
Last month Capita was hired by Havering Council to provide the Borough with an integrated housing management solution. Other recent project wins include its appointment to Transport for London’s (TfL) new IT Solutions Framework, and its involvement with realising operational efficiencies in Scotland's public services sector.
