11th August 2004, London... Civica plc, one of the UK’s most experienced providers of public sector consulting, software and services, is providing nation-wide IT support for the Women’s Royal Voluntary Service (WRVS), enabling the provider of nine million Meals on Wheels in the UK each year to manage information more effectively. The service enables faster operational updates and provides 24 hour access to information all year round. Users can also access information from remote locations via the Internet. Together with helpdesk support provided by Civica, this will reduce costs and give WRVS much greater flexibility. Civica is providing a hosted infrastructure solution, central hardware operations and helpdesk support in order to deliver access to critical information and instructions for 600 WRVS locations nation-wide. This includes the famous daily “roundsheets” from which Meals on Wheels are prepared across the country. The managed service, which was initiated last year to improve services in the run up to the demanding Christmas period, continues as WRVS seeks to further improve its information management WRVS IT director Michael Hoath said; “The project is part of a planned programme to provide our offices and volunteer groups with resilient 24/7 access to information and news updates, whether operational or emergency information, as circumstances dictate.” Simon Parkes, managing director, Civica Systems Ltd, said, “Effective local services depend on information. Providing a fully managed infrastructure not only connects people and systems, but ensures IT departments can focus instead on tackling key programmes and not support issues. We are committed to working with our customers to deliver a reliable and affordable operations platform to help organisations reach out to their communities with improved services.” About WRVS WRVS is among the largest and most active voluntary organisations in the UK with over 95,000 volunteers serving around nine million Meals on Wheels each year for housebound and older people and is a leading provider of hospital services working with over 270 NHS trusts. The charity also runs 205 trolley shops in residential homes, and 144 hospital trolley and information services. It provides a national network of emergency services of 12,000 volunteers and staff who are on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and runs about 1,000 lunch and social clubs. About Civica plc Civica (www.civica.co.uk) is one of the UK’s most experienced providers of consulting, software systems and managed services to the public sector. Supplying many organisations in the UK, Australia and the USA, including over 700 local authorities, the company has an 18-year history of delivering effective software solutions to local government, police, healthcare, criminal justice and education organisations. Civica Services Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary, is an approved Prime Contractor for software in the UK Government’s GCat procurement catalogue. The company employs approximately 450 people and has a recent track record of profits growth.