Agenda item

To approve as a correct record and the Chair to sign the Minutes of the Audit and Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee held on 25 July 2019.

Further to Minute No 158, the Strategic Director – People was present at the meeting to discuss ICT arrangements, as the Joint Head of Partnerships and Transformation was unable to attend the meeting.  Members had a number of questions which would be forwarded to the Joint Head of Partnerships and Transformation so that a full written response could be provided for Members consideration. 

·                    Society is going more cashless by the day.  Do our services need to reflect that?

·                    I am concerned about the development of systems (building our infrastructure).  When a system is internally developed, strict practices of writing code needs to be followed otherwise problems will be encountered down the line when a developer leaves.

·                    Wages in IT are going through the roof over the last 12 months.  What does the next 3-5 years look like? 

·                    What level of staff retention do we have?

·                    How big will the ICT team become in 3-5 years?

·                    Where are the new ideas coming from?  With regards to the gap between the staff not understanding what is possible and IT department not understanding what the company needs. 

·                    Is our online service good enough?  Does it need more marketing to enable us to save money.

·                    What capital expenditure is needed over the next 3-5 years?

·                    How are the charges split between the three Councils?

·                    Are we paying our fair share, is this still cost effective over just having our own service?  When did we last have a look at this? 

·                    I am concerned over the commercial activity of the service.  What commercial contracts do we currently have and which ones are we currently seeking?  I would like the details of the contracts.  How much have we invested in them?  How many staff do we employ to work them (hours or £s)?  What profit or surplus is made or forecast?  And over what period of time?  There may be more questions around this area.

The Officer stated that digitalisation was the trend, and as a result the Council needed to ensure that spending satisfied the demand for such services.  The Strategic Director referred to a recent government paper around digital efficiencies, which concluded that without the digitalisations that had occurred over the past 10 years or so, spending to provide the same or similar services would cost in the region of £1.8 billion more to provide today.  

The Committee heard that this move to digitalisation had resulted in significant increased financial efficiencies and was driven by market demands.  The Strategic Director – People, used Bolsover District Council’s Leisure Service as an example, where the use of technology and digitalisation had brought forward many efficiencies, which had included, but not limited to the following; virtual fitness instructors had increased the number of fitness classes available, and the use of online access that had resulted in customers being able to book classes at their convenience.  This had changed the staff profile but significantly increased efficiency and profitability. 

Members noted that the Joint ICT provisions had started in 2010 and that the concept was based on increased efficiency by pooling people and their skills.  It was stated that there was 28.6 full time Joint ICT staff that serviced 375 employees at Bolsover District Council, 251 employees at Derbyshire Dales Council and 572 staff at North East Derbyshire District Council and Rykneld Homes.  The Strategic Director – People explained that this allowed the Organisation to maximise the potential of the department, in line with the objectives of the Transformation Programme. 

The Strategic Director explained the changing nature of consumer behaviour and expectations, such as cashless payments and the ability to access services and products online.  It was stated that there was a need to diversify and create more options for consumers, whilst still maintaining traditional channels of communication.  The Officer reiterated that it was up to Members to determine the political dimension, and for officers to present and strengthen the business case. 

Members who were present at the Joint ICT Committee commented that there could have been greater detail in the presentation that the Committee received, including a breakdown of the budget, income received from external work, recorded user units, and a track on programme hours on specific projects. 

The Committee heard that a report had recently been taken to Cabinet that outlined a service review of the Organisation, including a restructure of the ICT department.  It was stated that a review had not been undertaken since 2010. 

Members thanked the Officer for attending the meeting. 

The Officer then left the meeting.

RESOLVED –

(1)       That the Minutes of the meeting of the Audit and Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee held on 25 July 2019 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

(2)       That the update be noted.