Agenda and minutes

To appoint the Chair of the Joint ICT Committee (DDDC) for the ensuing year.

RESOLVED – That Councillor C Furness (DDDC) be appointed Chair of the Joint ICT Committee for the municipal year.

To appoint the Vice-Chair of the Joint ICT Committee (NEDDC) for the ensuing year.

RESOLVED – That Councillor N Whitehead (DDDC) be appointed Vice-Chair of the Joint ICT Committee for the municipal year.

To receive any apologies for absence

Apologies were received from Councillor S Fritchley (BDC) and Councillor G Purdy (DDDC)

Members are requested to declare the existence and nature of any disclosable pecuniary interest and/or other interests, not already on their register of interests, in any item on the agenda and withdraw from the meeting at the appropriate time.

There were no declarations of interest

To approve as a correct record and the Chair to sign the attached Minutes of the meeting held on 10 February 2020.

The minutes of the Joint ICT Committee, held on Monday 10 February 2020 were agreed as a true record, subject to clarification on the following points:

·         That the meeting had been chaired by Councillor C Furness (DDDC)

·         The references to the Joint Head of Partnerships and Transformation at the conclusion of minutes 37/19-20 and 38/19-20 were incorrect. They should have referred to the Joint ICT Manager.

To appoint a Secretary of the Joint ICT Committee for the ensuing year (Joint Head of Corporate Governance BDC/NEDDC)

RESOLVED – That the Joint Head of Corporate Governance and Monitoring Officer (Bolsover District Council and North East Derbyshire District Council) be appointed as Secretary of the Joint ICT Committee for the municipal year. 

To appoint a Treasurer of the Joint ICT Committee for the ensuing year (Section 151 Officers BDC/NEDDC – joint appointment)

RESOLVED – That the Section 151 Officers for Bolsover District Council and at North East Derbyshire District Council be appointed Treasurer to the Joint Committee for the municipal year.

To appoint an Auditor of the Joint ICT Committee for the ensuing year (Chief Internal Auditor - DDDC)

That the Internal Audit Consortium Manager, Derbyshire Dales District Council, be appointed as Auditor to the Joint ICT Committee for the municipal year.

Report of the Head of the Joint ICT Service Delivery Manager

Joint ICT Committee considered the Quarterly Service Report for the period January to March 2020.  Member were assisted in this by the Joint ICT Service Delivery Manager, who explained the performance information.

The Joint ICT Service Delivery Manager began by pointing out the high number of service requests which had been received. These requests were partly the result of the major upgrades to servers and virtual desktops that had taken place during January and February 2020. There had also been a large number of requests for remote working, following on from the Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, in March 2020.

Members learned that the number of outstanding calls for non-urgent support had grown during the quarter.  Joint Committee heard that the number of outstanding calls might increase still further, as the Service would have to continue prioritising business continuity for the partner organisations. There would also be temporary reductions in capacity, as Joint ICT Service staff took leave that had to be delayed because of the pressure of work.

Members considered the ‘Loss of Service’ incidents which had occurred during the quarter. Joint ICT Committee noted that all of these incidents had been resolved within the time limits set by the Service Level Agreement (SLA).  Although there had been no ‘Priority One’ incidents, or incidents which had either affected a service delivered to customers or impacted on staff from across a number of service areas, there had been a greater than expected number of incidents which had affected multiple users of a single system or service area.

Joint ICT Committee heard about the project work that had taken place and the progress which had been made on specific initiatives. In this context, Joint Committee learned that user-training on the Bolsover District Council (BDC) Open Housing Project was in progress, with the implementation date for the project now expected in September 2020. Joint ICT Committee also heard about progress with the Electronic Document Management System at Derbyshire Dales District Council (DDDC) and how in the Missed Bins Reporting System, for North East Derbyshire District Council (NEDDC) had been completed. 

Members thanked the Joint ICT Service Delivery Manager for her contribution. Joint Committee then discussed the performance report.  As part of this, they considered the   Joint ICT Service budget and the 2019-20 financial year underspend which had occurred. In particular, Joint Committee considered the specific reasons for this and how the unspent funds might now best be re-allocated. There was a consensus that the funds ought to be retained and used in ways that would benefit the Service.

Joint ICT Committee asked that specific improvements proposals to be drawn up for Members to consider and, if appropriate for the Joint Committee to then make specific recommendation to the three constituent Councils on how the unused funds be used.

Joint ICT Committee also discussed the progress made towards developing a cost saving plan to help reduce ICT costs to the partner organisations. Members heard how the tender process had been completed for a new joint  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Report of the Joint ICT Service Delivery Manager

Joint ICT Committee considered a report on the use of Video and Audio Conferencing for meetings. Members were reminded that since the Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, in March 2020, practically all meetings had taken place remotely, using conference-call technology. 

However, it was explained that a range of conferencing tools were being used within the three councils, as well as local government as a whole, businesses and community organisations. This had placed additional demands on the Service, to ensure that both Members and officers could use these tools safely and effectively.

Joint ICT Committee heard about the technical and security issues which the different systems could pose. Members learned about the possible loss of data, the harm that might be caused to the network and potential breaches of the law on data protection posed by some of the systems which are now in use.

In order to help mitigate these risks ‘Members Protocols’ for the use of Video and Audio conferencing had been sent to the Councillors in all three authorities. Similar protocols had also been provided to their staff. The protocols, it was explained, were intended to offer guidance on how to participate safely in Video and Audio conferencing.

Joint ICT Committee welcomed the protocols. Joint Committee recognised that although they could not mitigate against all of the risks of the different Video and Audio conferencing systems, the Protocols would be of real assistance to Members and should be supported.

RESOLVED

(a)  That Joint ICT Committee noted the report;

(b)  That Joint ICT Committee supported the Member Protocols on Audio and Video Conferencing.

(Joint ICT Infrastructure Manager – Nicki Astle)

Report from the Joint Head of Service Partnerships and Transformation

Members considered the response of the Service to the Coronavirus (Covid-19) and the role of the Joint ICT Service in helping to ensure business continuity across the partner organisations.

Joint ICT Committee recognised the vital role which the Service had played in helping to ensure that the Councils could continue to operate effectively and to meet the challenges facing them. Joint Committee  asked for its thanks to the ICT Service staff for their hard work in very difficult circumstances to be recorded and conveyed to all those involved.

(Joint Head of Partnership and Transformation (BDC and NEDDC)

To consider any matter that the Chair of the Committee considers should be taken as Urgent Business.

There was no urgent business to be considered by the Joint ICT Committee

To be determined

Members agreed that the Committee seek to meet on Monday 5 October 2020 and Monday 8 February 2021, subject to confirmation. The Joint Committee also agreed that and that a further meeting be held in spring 2021. Members of the Joint Committee would be consulted to confirm the date of this meeting.