£18,000 of iPads to be handed out to councillors in Edinburgh

Councillors and officials in Edinburgh will be given iPads to save money and paper.

The City of Edinburgh Council estimates they spend around £200,000 on 1m sheets of paper every year printing off reports for councillors. The reports are given out at every council meeting and committee.

The iPad 2s, which will cost the local authority £18,000 to buy, will be given out to councillors and officials who regularly go to meetings.

It will allow them to look up and read the reports online, saving printed copies.

The Apple touch screens will be handed out over the coming weeks and months.

Alastair Maclean, director of corporate governance, said: "This initiative sends an important message about how we are looking to use IT to run the council better. Such innovations are standard practice in the business world and we need to do the same. It also pays for itself in the first year and provides recurring benefits."

Council leader Andrew Burns said: "We need to be a modern organisation that embraces technology, using it to save money and improve how we do business. This is a great chance to show we are serious about being more efficient while also reducing our impact on the environment."

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