Anite lands Council document management deal

IT services firm expands on work with Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council Benefits department

IT services firm Anite has inked a deal to supply the whole of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council's (MTCBC) operations with new Electronic Document and Records Management (EDRM) products.

The Council has previously called on Anite to implement EDRM products across its Benefits department. Since that deployment the average processing time for new benefits claims has fallen from 153 days to 17. The installation, which was carried out several years ago, has also enabled Change of Circumstances claims' average processing time to be reduced to 9 days.

Anite claimed the full installation will allow MTCBC to make space by doing away with manual filing systems. The services firm also indicated it will enable more flexible working patterns by offering staff remote access to information.

Mark Horrigan, head of revenues and benefits at MTCBC, said: “The introduction of Anite’s EDRM solution has played a significant role in transforming the Benefits service in Merthyr Tydfil. The huge reductions in processing times have had a massively positive impact on all of our customers.”

The Council's IT manager Ellis Cooper said: “Having all of the information in one place means that it can be accessed by the right employees when they need it, allowing our Benefits department to significantly improve their customer service. We expect similar success throughout the authority.”

Mike Kingswood, managing director of local government at Anite, added: “The pressure on all local authorities to improve services and achieve greater efficiencies is immense. MTCBC is tackling this head-on and transforming the way it manages information. Anite is delighted to have helped Merthyr Tydfil achieve such positive reductions in the time it takes to process claims and deliver better customer services."