Council to scrap paper agendas to save money
NEARLY £20,000 was spent on printing public reports last year by Birmingham City Council, prompting a move to axe all hard copy agendas.
Printing is also seen as an unnecessary drain on staff time.
The council is aiming to go paperless by November.
The proposal was first put forward four years ago when it was estimated around 1,000 hours a year of staff time could be saved, alongside the financial benefits from reduced spending on paper and ink cartridges.
The move has been rolled out gradually to ensure councillors were properly trained in obtaining information electronically instead.
They have all been issued with council laptops and already receive some reports on email.
Public agendas and reports for the planning committee and audit committees were the first to be axed because they involved the largest document bundles.
The most recent audit committee (July 30) featured the 2017/18 statement of accounts on 234 pages, while a recent planning committee document would have been printed on more than 130 pages. Councillors were able to scroll through the information on their laptops and tablets instead.
The monthly licensing and public protection committee also became paperless last year.
Now it is proposed that reports for all public meetings, including overview and scrutiny panels, are scrapped within weeks.
A report says councillors will receive extra training if they need it over the next two months.