Agenda item

Report of the Joint ICT Service Delivery Manager.

Joint ICT Committee considered the Service Report. This covered the first two quarters of the financial year - April to June 2020 and July to September 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 that there had been a significant increase in service requests during the previous six months. These requests, it was explained, mainly involved remote working. Members heard that remote working had grown substantially across all of the Partner Councils since the start of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, in March 2020 and that this was likely to continue.

Joint ICT Committee was informed that the number of outstanding calls, that is un-met requests for service, had remained consistently high across the two quarters. This backlog would not fall significantly in the near future, as the Service would have to continue prioritising remote working and business continuity for the Partner Councils, which would reduce the amount of project and other work that it could then carry out.

Joint ICT Committee considered the ‘Loss of Service’ incidents that had taken place.  In this context, Members heard about the one ‘Priority One’ incident, or an incident which had either affected a service delivered to customers or impacted on staff from across a number of service areas, that had occurred.  They also learned how there had been fewer than expected incidents affecting multiple users of a single system or service area, during the first quarter (April-June 2020), but that the number of these had increased during the second quarter (July – September 2020).

Joint ICT Committee considered the project work which had taken place and the progress made on specific initiatives. In particular, Members learned that the Bolsover District Council (BDC) Open Housing Project went live in mid-September 2020 and that the Derbyshire Dales District Council (DDDC) Meritec Corporate Records Management system was also now operational. In addition, work was progressing on the ‘Info@work’ system upgrade for North East Derbyshire District Council (NEDDC). 

Members thanked the Joint ICT Service Delivery Manager for her contribution. Joint ICT Committee then discussed the performance report. As part of this, Members considered the schedule of projects which the Service was due to carry out. Joint ICT Committee asked that additional information, to help explain the scope and scale of specific projects, be included in future Quarterly Performance Reports.

Members then considered the Joint ICT Service Budget. They noted the greater than expected employment costs, which were primarily the result of the staffing restructure which had taken place. They also heard that expenditure on travel costs had so far been under-budget. This was because the Joint ICT Service staff had made fewer journeys as a result of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak. Joint ICT Committee then heard about progress on re-profiling internal recharges and the internal recharges that needed to be made.

Joint ICT Committee discussed the emerging cost saving plan for the Service. In particular, Members heard that the tender process had been completed for a new joint Internet connection, which would, when implemented in September 2021, deliver cost savings of about £3000 per annum.

RESOLVED - That the Joint ICT Committee noted the Joint ICT Service Report for the period April 2020 to September 2020.