Neath Port Talbot council has replaced its tried, if not completely trusted, web presence with a beta version. Beta (also known in the software trade as "trying it on the dog") is a way of getting users to complete testing of software to eliminate bugs which the developers had not already trapped as well as to suggest features which the designers had not thought of. It is not unknown for public bodies to take this route to polish new versions of Web pages - UK Parliament and Companies House come to mind - but in my experience the beta version is, properly, offered as an alternative to the existing portal. NPT has not done this.
Nor is this beta as comprehensive as the pages it replaces. In particular, just as the council is in a phase of controversial decision-making, particularly over mass primary school closures, there is no access to council and committee agendas, supporting departmental submissions or minutes of meetings.
To nobody's surprise, the pages for paying council tax are unaffected.
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