Issue - meetings

To approve an additional budget allocation of £100,000 to complete delivery of the Protect and Maintain Frontline Services programme and to agree the future ICT Strategy requirements for inclusion in the Medium Term Financial Plan.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That an additional budget requirement of £100,000 be approved in order to complete the delivery of the Protect and Maintain Frontline Services programme; and

(b)       That the ICT strategy future requirements detailed in section 8 of Report Item 9 to the Cabinet, be approved for inclusion in the Medium Term Financial Plan, subject to the approval of individual Business cases.

The Cabinet was advised of the ICT investment that had taken place since April 2017 and advised of the implications for the Medium Term Financial Plan of delivering the ICT Strategy 2018-2022.

A major strand of investment had been the replacement of old and “out of support” infrastructure and important software systems.  In addition, the Wifi at Appletree Court and Marsh Lane Depot had been extended to allow staff to work anywhere within those buildings.  The display equipment in the conference rooms had also been upgraded with large, modern monitors that allowed Wifi connection.  These projects, costing around £1.6 million, would be completed by September 2019.  An additional £100,000 would be required in 2019/20 to complete this work.

Members noted progress being made on the change to mobile devices for all staff to assist with the introduction of “Smarter Working”.  Work on the new ICT infrastructure, including the replacement of the current e-mail/calendar system with Office 365; the replacement of the current telephone system with Skype for Business; and the replacement of the Meridio document management system with SharePoint, would take place in 3 phases between April 2019 and September 2020.  The finance for these projects had already been improved.

Plans for a further 4 year programme of future requirements were set out in Section 6 of Report item 9 to the Cabinet, together with the financial implications of each strand of work, as set out in Section 8 of the report.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That an additional budget requirement of £100,000 be approved in order to complete the delivery of the Protect and Maintain Frontline Services programme; and

(b)       That the ICT strategy future requirements detailed in section 8 of Report Item 9 to the Cabinet, be approved for inclusion in the Medium Term Financial Plan, subject to the approval of individual business cases.