Decision details

In response to questions raised by Members on the proposed Strategy:

·      The Assistant Director (Finance & Estates) confirmed that ICT costs were generally shared 50/50 between SBC and East Hertfordshire District Council, although at times SBC contributed a slightly higher proportion due to its larger workforce;

·      The Assistant Director (Finance & Estates) advised that the Revenue costs had been built into the Medium Term Financial Strategy; and that the Capital costs would need to be re-profiled as part of the Capital Strategy;

·      The Chief Executive  gave an assurance that he supported the direction of travel and the level of investment set out in the ICT Strategy, as a root and branch review of ICT provision had been carried out to identify the improvements required;

·      The Strategic Director confirmed that the permanent recruitment process for an Assistant Director post responsible for Transformation and Digital would commence in the coming months;

·      Assurances were given that the new ICT equipment would be fully tested before the existing equipment was de-commissioned;

·      Monitoring of the Strategy would be carried out by the ICT Partnership Board and the Audit Committee, including the monitoring of efficiencies and savings achieved; and

·      IT system providers would be encouraged to move towards cloud based information storage systems, in advance of the Council’s planned move to the Civic Hub.

The Leader stated that improvements to the Council’s IT system was a priority and that significant investment was required to enable the development of a sustainable and resilient IT network to properly serve the residents of Stevenage.  In order to bring this about, Members were informed that the level of investment could result in other priorities being re-profiled or deferred.

The Leader thanked the Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhood & Co-operative Working, the Strategic ICT & Partnership Manager and the IT Team for their work in producing the Strategy.

It was RESOLVED:

1.         That the ICT Partnership’s ICT Strategy 2019 – 2022, attached at Appendix A to the report, be approved.

2.         That delegated authority be granted to the Strategic Director (RP), having consulted the Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhoods and Co-operative Working, to make any further amendments to the ICT Strategy.

3.         That the ICT funding challenges be noted, and the currently known ICT capital investments be prioritised, as summarised in Table 2 at Paragraph 5.1.7 of the report, subject to available funds and the Council’s agreement to their inclusion in the Capital Strategy 2020/21.

4.         That Council be recommended to approve the re-profiling of the ICT Capital Programme over the next five years, as summarised in Table 2 at Paragraph 5.1.7 of the report, as part of the Capital Strategy for 2020/21.

5.         That Council be recommended to prioritise the currently known revenue pressures relating to the ICT Strategy (subject to available funds) through the General Fund and Housing Revenue Account annual budget setting process for 2020/21.

6.         That delegated authority be given to the Strategic Director (TP), having consulted the Portfolio Holders for Neighbourhoods & Co-operative Working and Resources, to negotiate and agree a new ICT Shared Service Agreement with East Hertfordshire District Council.

Reason for Decision:  As contained in report.

Other Options considered: As contained in report.