The money – some £9.5m – has been earmarked to fund a new ‘Health Technology and Telehealth Fund,′ which the Welsh government hopes will build on other investment made in the region through the Health Technology Fund and Rural Health Innovation Fund.
Read more: GB: Wales commits £9.5m to new health IT and telehealth fund
The government is also on track to save a cumulative GBP 1.2 billion (US$ 2 billion) by 2015, the Minister said. “Our digital-by-default agenda is part of our long-term economic plan to tackle the deficit we inherited. I’m pleased to announce today that we expect to save at least GBP 500 million (US$ 820 million) from IT spend this year, on top of the GBP 500 million (US$ 820 million) we saved from government’s IT spend last year and GBP 250 million (US$ 410 million) the year before,” he added.
To obtain information regarding the use of biometrical technology on students, the group called Big Brother Watch sent Freedom of Information Requests to more than 3,000 schools across the UK, but only 1,255 schools responded to the requests.
Civil liberties group, Big Brother Watch, filed Freedom of Information Requests to over 3,000 schools across the UK and found that 40 percent of schools are using biometrical technology on pupils. Only 1,255 schools responded.
Read more: UK schools fingerprinted over 800K children, third without parental consent - watchdog
The councils have been working together since 2007 when they merged their management structures. They followed this with a shared services agreement and the development of integrated strategies.