Issue - items at meetings - ICT Strategy and resourcing update

Report of the Executive Director for Finance & Resources (copy attached).

(1)               That progress in delivering the ICT Strategy 2011-2016 be noted; and

(2)               That the resourcing consequences of that strategy be considered as part of the Council’s budget setting processes.

127.1    The Executive Director for Finance & Resources introduced the report, which provided an update on the progress in delivering the ICT Strategy 2011-2016 and the ICT Capital Investment Plan as requested by the Committee at its meeting in December.  She stated that there had been a great deal of work undertaken to ensure that the Council met the Cabinet Office’s security requirements and investment in the council’s infrastructure was required to improve services.

127.2    The Chair stated that he had written to the Minster responsible on behalf of the South East 7 Group of Authorities and had since received a response which did not address any of the points raised.  He was therefore intending to write again to see if a further response would be forthcoming.  However, he did wish to acknowledge the amount of work that had been undertaken by ICT staff to meet the ever-changing security requirements placed on local authorities by the Cabinet Office.

127.3    Councillor Morgan stated that he had recently met with colleagues from other local authorities which were in the process of introducing IT systems that prompted people registering for benefits on-line to other benefits that were available to them and also detailed the work being undertaken by contractors in wards which Members could use to keep informed.  He hoped that as part of the on-going ICT strategy such examples would be looked at and built into the service provision.

127.4    Councillor G. Theobald welcomed the report and thanked the officers for the work that had been undertaken.  He stated that there had been an under-investment in IT and a clear strategy was needed to improve the provision across the authority and for Members Councillor G. Theobald welcomed the report and thanked officers for the work that had been done.  However, he questioned whether the lack of investment was the main reason for the situation that had arisen and suggested that a clear strategy was needed to improve provision across the authority for officers and members of the public as well as councillors if the proposed level of expenditure was to be undertaken.

127.5    The Executive Director for Finance & Resources stated that it was possible to have an on-line benefits assessment but as yet it would not link to other benefits that might be available.  However, it was something that had been recognised and was part of the digital customer experience programme that it was hoped to roll out across the organisation in due course as part of the improvements to the infrastructure.

127.6    The Chair noted that a number of authorities were still running Office 2003 and would need to look at how they updated their IT provision.  He also noted that a number of authorities were only just realising the implications of the new secure working arrangements required by the Cabinet Office and that others had yet to comply because they were later in the timetable set by the Cabinet Office.  It did mean that the council had to identify the resources required and invest in its IT structure.  He then put the recommendations to the vote.

127.7    RESOLVED:

(1)               That progress in delivering the ICT Strategy 2011-2016 be noted; and

(2)               That the resourcing consequences of that strategy be considered as part of the Council’s budget setting processes.