Yep, it’s dungaree time, again, which, if you read my last post about Brentwood Council, means I’ve been emailing councillors.
Only about open source software, this time …
You can read the relevant letter I sent to the Gazette,
here, by the way. To summarise, I made what I thought was a good basic point, that many open source projects are free, and can be a real saving; – as Bristol City Council, various French government bodies, and
Carmarthenshire County Council will be able to tell you. They’ve all used some of the commercially available open source, which are usually cheaper than the closed source alternatives, and which are capable of being altered by an organisations in-house IT department, should the need arise.
But, here, here’s the text of the email I sent to them, and forwarded to Eric Pickles, the local MP.
“Hello.
My name is Paul Downie, and, as you may be aware, I’ve been writing both to the Brentwood Gazette, and on my blog, about the newly approved plans for a cinema, here in Brentwood; something I personally applaud the Council for approving, controversial though it may be.
However, I’m emailing you collectively about another matter.
In the economic circumstances the country faces, today, Brentwood Council obviously has to face the fact that it has to take action to improve the borough’s financial situation; including looking at various cost cutting exercises. Something I’m sure you’re aware of.
One thing I did mention, in one of my recent letters to the Gazette was the possibility of of using open source software, usually free to home users, and that, in its commercial forms, available at greatly reduced cost to business and public sector users; something that Bristol City Council took advantage of, only a few years ago. Given, also, that central government has recently decided to put open source products, such as OpenOffice.org, and Firefox on a more equal footing with proprietary software, such as MS Office, I would like to ask whether Brentwood Council will, as the time comes to upgrade its software, will be favouring propriety software, or giving open source software serious consideration.
While I realise that there are other and larger savings the Council could make, I also believe that the £1 million that Bristol City Council saved, in switching to an open source piece of software, will be something that will – in the long run – be equally as beneficially to the people and voters of Brentwood, as the cinema.
Please note, you can read Bristol City’s report on the switch, here, and more recent news about it, here. You can also read my letter to the Gazette on the subject, here.
Now, while I know that each individual member of Brentwood Council will want to put their individual constituency and committee first, I also fell that this will be of interest to all of Brentwood. After all, switching to open source software could save money for all council tax payers in Brentwood. And that is no bad thing.”
And here’s the opening part of the email I sent to Eric Pickles, Brentwood’s local MP.
“Dear Mr Pickles,
I’ve written to all of Brentwood Council’s councillors, today, regarding Brentwood Council’s uptake of open source software; – a cost saving measure that I fell will benefit the people of this town.
In that regard, I’d like to have your views on this, both as the MP for Brentwood and as Conservative party chairman; more specifically, whether you think this is something that could be adopted, both at a local, county, and national level.
To that end, I’ve included the text of the email I sent, below, and a link to my blog, where I’ve also written about the subject.”
Now I now there is tons I don’t about the subject. I know I’m probably not the best person to talk, or talk to, about it.
But it seems sensible to me, given the little I know, for governments, local or otherwise, to at least look at a more cost effective measure. One that can also be tinkered with, in house, if something goes wrong.
But in case you’d like to ask your local councillor, yourself, here’s the email addresses for each of Brentwood’s councillors. The only ones not here are the ones who haven’t registered with Brentwood Council’s site for one. And, for those outside Brentwood, if your local council is anything like mine, it should have your local councillor’s email address on its Contact section.
Reg Straw
Brentwood North
reg.straw@brentwood.gov.uk
David Kendall
Pilgrims Hatch
david.kendall@brentwood.gov.uk
David Minns
Brentwood South
david.minns@brentwood.gov.uk
Ann Coe
South Weald
ann.coe@brentwood.gov.uk
Keith Sparling
Brizes and Doddinghurst
keith.sparling@brentwood.gov.uk
Lionel Lee
Shenfield
lionel.lee@brentwood.gov.uk
Richard Harrison
Ingatestone, Fryerning and Mountnessing
richard.harrison@brentwood.gov.uk
Janet Pound
Warley
jan.pound@brentwood.gov.uk
Karen Sheehan
Brentwood West
karen.sheehan@brentwood.gov.uk
Russell Quirk
Brentwood North
russell.quirk@brentwood.gov.uk
Roger McCheyne
Brizes and Doddinghusrt
roger.mccheyne@brentwood.gov.uk
Linda Golding
Herongate, Ingrave and West Horndon
linda.golding@brentwood.gov.uk
Jean McGinley
jean.mcginley@brentwood.gov.uk
Hutton Central
Keith Parker
Brizes and Doddinghurst;
keith.parker@brentwood.gov.uk
Karen Chilvers
Brentwood West
karen.chilvers@brentwood.gov.uk
Brandon Lewis
Hutton South
lewis@brentwood.gov.uk
Mike Le-Surf
mike.le-surf@brentwood.gov.uk
Phil Baker
Shenfield
phil.baker@brentwood.gov.uk
Michæl Golding
Brentwood South
michael.golding@brentwood.gov.uk
Matthew Aspinall
Pilgrims Hatch
mathew.aspinell@brentwood.gov.uk
Margeret Brehaut
Shenfield
margaret.brehaut@brentwood.gov.uk
Mark Reed
Hutton South
mark.reed@brentwood.gov.uk
William Lloyd
Warley
william.lloyd@brentwood.gov.uk
David Tee
Warley
david.tee@brentwood.gov.uk
Tony Sleep
Ingatestone, Fryening and Mountnessing
tony.sleep@brentwood.gov.uk
Chris Hossack
Hutton East
chris.hossack@brentwood.gov.uk
Madelin Henwood
Tipps Cross
madeline.henwood@brentwood.gov.uk
Ross Carter
Brentwood North
ross.carter@brentwood.gov.uk
Loiuse McKinley
Hutton North
louise.mckinlay@brentwood.gov.uk
Noelle Hones
Ingatestone, Fryerning and Mountnessing
noelle.hones@brentwood.gov.uk
Gordon MacLellan
Herongate, Ingrave and West Horndon
gordon.maclellan@brentwood.gov.uk
Roger Keeble
Tipps Cross;
roger.keeble@brentwood.gov.uk
Dudley Payne
Hutton North;
dudley.payne@brentwood.gov.uk
Barry Aspinall
Pilgrims Hatch
barry.aspinell@brentwood.gov.uk
Joan Holmes
Brentwood West
joan.holmes@brentwood.gov.uk
And putting together that lot was fun …
Just to update you, I’ve had replies in from Councillor Joan Holmes, and both Michæl and Linda Golding, that I thought you should know about. The general consensus from all three was that it was something to look at, and that all three would be letting me know what happens, once they’ve talked to the IT department. I also know that, a few weeks ago, that George Osbourne, the Tory Shadow Chancellor, announced that central government could save about
five percent of central government spending, by using open source software projects. While I feel he has a point, I feel this is going to get turned into a political football – given that all three are Conservative councillors …
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