A report by PeoplePerHour.com – the online marketplace for freelancers and contractors – has unveiled some rather interesting information about how much money local councils spend on web services.
The report is based on a Freedom of Information request, and it claims that councils are spending up to ten times more on web-based services than comparable private businesses. In 2008/2009 local councils spent £19.1 million on third-party website agencies, an increase of over 18% on the previous year.
So… Is this a predictable story of local government waste? Are IT contractors making a mint out of local councils across the country? Or, are local council’s having to increase their spend on online services in order to catch up with an increasingly internet savvy population who demand more than just a cosmetic web presence from their local decision makers?
If you’ve got a head for figures you may want to delve into the full report here.
