英国:为议员配iPad省钱增效

英国莱切斯特市议会近期宣布将出资近4万英镑为全部54名议员配备iPad，以提高工作效率并节省办公支出。目前已有4名议员在试用iPad，明年5月有望普及到全体议员。此项计划一经宣布便引起了热议。有议员表示，他们每天要出席很多会议，笔记本电脑“太重”，携带不方便，而且电池不如iPad耐用。另外还有议员称使用iPad办公就可以随时随地通过网络传输文件，省去了文件打印的步骤，这样每年将为议会节省9万英镑。不过，反对派则指出，在经济不景气、全国都在缩减开支的时候，市议会却用纳税人的钱购买新型的通讯设备，这是一种资源浪费，议会应该把钱用在最需要的地方。该议会此前也曾经宣布要裁减1000个工作岗位来缩减开支。

A cash-strapped council has been criticized after it announced plans to spend nearly £40,000 of taxpayers' money on iPads for every councilor.

Leicester City Council is preparing to issue all 54 councilors with the Apple tablet computers from next May.

Four councilors have already been given iPads, each costing around £700, as a trial.

One councilor justified the move claiming her laptop was ''heavy'' making it difficult to take to several meetings a day.

Council chiefs, who are expected to axe 1,000 jobs, claim the iPads will save money.

Labor councilor Sarah Russell, who is awaiting delivery of the highest-spec 64 gigabyte model, said: ''We're trying out the iPad to see whether it improves the way we work as councilors.

''If it does, and it can replace costly printing, then the council could potentially save £90,000 each year. I have a laptop but it is quite heavy, meaning it is awkward to take to several meetings in a day.

''It also has to be charged much more regularly than an iPad.''

Conservative group leader Ross Grant, who has one on trial, claimed the iPad made him ''more productive''.

He said: ''The iPad has made me even more productive as a councilor.

''Whenever a constituent stops me in the street I can write down and begin researching their problem immediately on the iPad, because I'm connected to the internet right around the city.

''Also when I'm in key meetings I've asked for council agendas to be e-mailed as PDF files to the iPad so I no longer need printed documents. This could save the council money in the long term.''

But one senior councilor said: ''As soon as we all heard that three councilors were getting iPads everyone started asking for one.

''I suppose it'll be handy to have, but the expense is a little bit awkward at a time of cuts.''

Matthew Sinclair, Research Director at the Taxpayers' Alliance, said: "It is right that the council should try to avoid wasting paper where they can.

"But incredible that they think that means providing councilors with flash new iPads at a cost of tens of thousands of pounds.

"A small, affordable laptop would do the same job, though it certainly wouldn't be as exciting a perk for the councilors.

"With ordinary taxpayers struggling after a decade in which council tax has nearly doubled and with grants from central government likely to be under pressure more needs to be done to ensure spending is focused on priority services and these kinds of wasteful projects are cut out. If councilors want an iPad they can buy one themselves."