Twitterers brianlj, agnt_orange, and Mr Onions have interpreted this as sounding like a call for iPads for MPs.

http://www.cambridge.gov.uk/ccm/content/news-releases/2010/february/cambridge-city-council-and-ipads.en

It contains the paragraph:

At least one Cambridge City Councillor already uses a device of their own for this purpose, and discussion of whether devices should be provided to other Councillors has appeared on the blogs of a private individual and a Cambridge City Councillor

It also reveals that the council will be formally discussing the use of tablet and notepad computers at its Strategy and Resources Scrutiny Committee on the 29th of March 2010.

Earlier I asked Cambridge City Council leader Ian Nimmo-Smith what he thought of the quality and accuracy of some of the apparantly exaggerated press coverage; he appeared quite rattled. His only response was that there had been no mention of iPads in any official council documents. Cllr Nimmo-Smith may not be remembering that his party doesn’t share reports with the press, opposition councillors, or public until a week before the meeting, even if they are available to ruling party members earlier. I don’t expect to formally be able to access the official council documents for about 5 weeks. All I had to go on was Cllr Taylor’s blog - which included a cartoon featuring iPads - and my conversations with Cllrs Reid and Nimmo-Smith in which iPads were discussed.

The council press release has prompted further articles
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/02/10/cambridge_ipad_denial/
http://www.itpro.co.uk/620338/cambridge-city-council-denies-plan-to-buy-apple-ipads

The ITPro article observes:

Despite a report in the Cambridge News quoting David Roberts, head of policy and projects at the council, as saying the iPad “is definitely a possibility,” the council vehemently denied the Apple iPad was even the device being considered.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2846102/Council-defend-30k-iPad-spree.html

As does the Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/7196241/Council-plans-to-spend-30000-on-iPads.html

This author asks a number of questions about the Ipad, and concludes: “No one should buy an iPad until we really know what it can do and what limits Apple has set on it”.

http://infoworld.com/d/mobilize/ipad-questions-apple-wont-answer-972

Exactly.

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/cn_news_home/displayarticle.asp?id=482621

Richard Taylor | [In an insane attempt to prevent hurricanes,] Should We Buy Our Councillors iPads?

It is true that we do not always implement all their recommendations. In particular for several years they recommended large increases in allowances, to bring Cambridge City Council allowances up to levels similar to comparable councils, but every time councillors refused to vote the necessary budget and insisted on scaling down the panel’s recommendations.

I came to your blog via Richard Taylor’s site: http://www.rtaylor.co.uk/should-we-buy-our-councillors-ipads.html
I think that more IT might be useful to councillors like yourself, and also to the public, but would need to be more comprehensive than it is at present.

For instance I attended the West/Central area committee on 04/02/10 that Richard referred to, and while most information on items on the agenda was available from the council website, a drawing of an item on the environmental improvements section was not available online, (nor for that matter as hardcopy at the meeting), nevertheless councillors were given copies. This is not very good, but is unfortunately all too common, my point is that everything needs to be available online, and in open-standard formats such as HTML and PDF, and editable formats e.g. ODT but NOT in Microsoft proprietary file formats, e.g. DOC, DOCX.

Don’t get too excited by the iPad, time will tell how good it will turn out, at present it is only an (yet unavailable) fashionable item. You will need to wait for the (more expensive) 3G version, or you get NO INTERNET outside wireless hot-spots!

Also, I have great misgivings over displays on most IT equipment, they are not able to display a page of A4 text clearly enough to read without zooming and panning. Something like the newly announced larger screen Kindle might be more appropriate for reading documents.
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2010/02/02/review_e_book_reader_amazon_kindle_dx/

In any case I think that it should be up to individuals to purchase their own devices rather than these being supplied and funded directly by the council. Try using a normal laptop as an experiment and see how you get on. You will need to get an Internet connection, so invest in a Mobile Internet usb dongle too.

When Cllr Sian Reid arrived he asked her if she knew where the proposal had originated. She said she had been talking to Simon Chubb, the City Council’s Climate Change Officer, about the amount of paper the council uses during meetings. Cllr Reid said Mr Chubb was investigating if the council’s climate change fund could be used to pay for a trial involving using tablet computers during meetings.

The Council’s March 2009 Audit Letter states:

Councillors have approved a £250,000 Climate Change Fund to support internal projects across the Council that will contribute to the reduction of the Council’s own carbon footprint and improve climate change risk management.

Councillors have been struggling to find ways of spending this money; they appear to hope residents will be impressed by the mere existence of a hefty sum being allocated to Cambridge City Council’s fight against climate change. Tablet computers are just the latest in a series of odd potential uses thought up for the money.

Cllr Reid appeared very exited about the possibility of getting her hands on a new gadget - explaining to me that they were the thing of the moment and in fashion right now and even mimed holding one in her hands. I suggested a laptop computer might be better, she disagreed saying she thought they would act as more of a barrier to communications in meetings than a tablet. I suggested different councillors might have different views on that and said I thought it would be more appriopriate if councillors bought their own gadgets. Cllr Reid then claimed that was what she was proposing all along.

“…Executive Councillors…each get an additional £8,346. I think the Executive councillors in particular are very generously remunerated for what they do.”

You don’t mention that councillors have to pay income tax on these allowances. What methodology would you suggest for arriving at a reasonable rate?

It would save a lot of time and money if more council information was made available electronically, but that’s the real aim. Giving councillors the latest gadgets is not going to have much impact on making that aim happen.

I’ve seen the TVs used once in many months of meetings (though the idea they could be used for an item has been raised a number of times).

I wouldn’t want to see more public money spent on technology which goes unused.