Issue - meetings

The Leader of the Council and Lead Councillor for Service Delivery introduced the item.  He praised the efforts of the Lead Specialist for ICT and suggested that the ICT Refresh programme was on a much sounder footing than previously.

The Lead Specialist for ICT summarised the report submitted to the Committee.  He explained that the programme consisted of two projects: the end-user device refresh and the infrastructure refresh.  He confirmed that the programme was not yet complete: the end-user device refresh project was expected to conclude by the end of the calendar year and the infrastructure refresh by June 2021.  He reminded Councillors of key risks such as security, resilience, the programme timeline, and Public Sector Network (PSN) compliance.

The Lead Specialist for ICT indicated that the infrastructure refresh project was to be funded by the ICT renewals hardware/software budget. 

In response to questioning, the Director for Resources indicated that a permanent virement of approximately £17,000 from the corporation inflation budget to the ICT licence fees budget would meet ongoing annual revenue charges associated with a migration to software as a service (SaaS).

With reference to dual-hatted members, a Committee member asked if there were plans to work more closely with Surrey County Council to explore the provision of a single end-user device that could be used across all the districts and boroughs in the county.  The Lead Specialist for ICT indicated that it would be complex to bridge systems to enable such use but undertook to raise the issue at the county-wide forum for local authorities’ ICT managers. 

The Lead Specialist for ICT outlined some implications for local authorities’ ICT systems from any introduction of unitary local government in the county.  He suggested that such mergers would likely require a series of workarounds in the short-term.

In reply to a request from a member of the Committee, the Lead Specialist for ICT undertook to consider including end users in discussions about possible replacements of devices in future.

The Lead Specialist for ICT informed the Committee that ICT hardware was listed on an asset register and most software was listed on a business systems list, although apps on individual work phones might not all be recorded.

RESOLVED:  That the progress of the ICT Refresh Programme as set out in the report submitted to the Committee be noted.