Issue - meetings

The Director submitted a report on the Shared IT Service arrangements with Stevenage Borough Council (SBC).  She provided historical background which culminated in the shared service arrangements.  This  aimed to provide value for money and stability of service.  The Director explained that savings had been achieved and that there was an emerging ICT strategy and significant investment particularly over the last six months.

Scott Crudgington, the Chief Executive of Stevenage Borough Council introduced his team and their areas of expertise.  Mr Crudgington reminded Members of the financial crisis which had hit the country in 2008 in terms of local government cuts and the austerity measures which had followed triggering a number of Councils to investigate partnership working arrangements; the first of which was to share revenues and benefit service arrangements.  Mr Crudgington referred to the challenges still facing both Councils  with shared IT arrangements and of the successes with shared services including revenues and benefits and the CCTV partnership working.

The Committee Chairman commented on the need to look at service provision going forward and what it could do better. 

Councillor M Casey referred to the projected savings of £400K a year cited within the business plan in the context of the outturn figures for 2016/17 and 2017/18.  He queried what had happened to the £400K savings. 

Claire Fletcher (Finance Officer, SBC) explained how the costs of moving to a shared service arrangement including staffing changes (e.g. TUPE) had impacted on the projection and synchronising of projects.  

Clarification was sought and provided on the table in paragraph 4.1 of the report submitted, in relation to retained costs by each council.  By way of example Mr Crudgington explained that SBC still held housing stock and the implication of this on IT management.  Mr Tyler explained that £386K was retained by EHDC and how this was broken down to support various services, e.g. Revenues and Benefits.

The Committee Chairman sought and was provided with clarification on the potential impact if each Council did not have a shared service arrangement.  Mr Crudgington referred to the impact on data integration, the need to develop data centres and the re-employment of staff who had TUPE’d over.

The Director explained that  if both Councils had continued to provide separate IT services, then annual costs would have risen year on year and that it was unlikely that savings would have been achieved.  She explained that both Councils now had significant resilience through a variety of means and of  the importance of investment. The Director added that the emerging ICT strategy would inform the direction of travel over the years and provide an indication of what investment levels were needed.

Councillor B Deering thanked the Officers for the report.  He  was concerned to read (in paragraph 6.11) that projects and business as usual work was “uncontrolled” and how this had impacted on maintaining day to day services.  He expressed concern about the decision to extend the partnership arrangement to 31 March 2019 to enable a revised agreement for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 83