Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Tim Levene, Benjamin Murphy and James Tumbridge.

There were no declarations.

To agree the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on Thursday 30 May 2019.

RESOLVED: That the public minutes of the meeting held on 30 May 2019 be approved as an accurate record, subject to the changes that Deputy Roger Chadwick was present in the meeting as opposed to being absent as recorded.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Sub-Committee received a joint report of the Town Clerk and the Chamberlain which provided updates of outstanding actions from previous meetings. The report also provided information on the Sub-Committee’s proposed work plan for the forthcoming meetings.

RESOLVED – That the Sub-Committee notes the report.

Joint report of the Town Clerk and the Chamberlain.

The Sub-Committee considered a joint report of the Town Clerk and the Chamberlain which provided updates of outstanding actions from previous meetings. The report also provided information on the Sub-Committee’s proposed work plan for the forthcoming meetings.

RESOLVED – That the Sub-Committee notes the report.

Director of the Open Spaces to be heard.

The Director of Open Spaces provided a presentation to the Sub-Committee, the theme of the presentation was around how Digital Technology and Service has helped the Open Spaces Department overcome some of the challenges it faces. Members were informed that the Department has dealt with 24 Million visitors in the last few years and the expansion of the use of IT has enabled connectivity and productivity within the Department. An example cited was that previously, seven Gardeners from the City of London were sharing one computer, however, this has now changed, and the Gardeners are now equipped personal devices which enables them to access their emails in real-time. 

One of the key challenges faced by the Department was that their work is geographically challenging, as some of the Offices are in remote areas such as in a forest, which makes providing effective network connections difficult.  The use of Skype for Business for meetings has enabled the Department to reduce the need to travel to meetings with colleagues both internally and externally, resulting in saving travel time and costs.

At this point, Mr Jeremy Mayhew enters the room.

The Sub- Committee was further informed that 85% of the Departments transaction were non-cash, and the modernisation has allowed the transformation and making the transaction easier in public facing services, such as ticketing for admissions and retail systems.

A Member asked how the team was changing its culture towards Skype for Business and where the Department was with the CRM. The Sub- Committee was informed that the shift of culture has been embraced with a positive attitude, again referring to the rollout of the technology with the City of London Gardeners that has enabled them to be better equipped to do their job.  City of London Gardeners were able to communicate from remote

Director of Markets & Consumer Protection to be heard.

The Director of Markets & Consumer Protection provided a presentation to the Sub- Committee. The Director of Markets & Consumer Protection mentioned that there are a lot of similarities between Port Health and the Open Spaces due to the nature of their work outside of the City.

At this point, the Chairman left the room, with the Deputy Chairman in the Chair.

The Director of Markets & Consumer Protection informed the Sub-Committee that the majority of the Department’s work is time sensitive and business related. The Director of Markets & Consumer Protection gave examples of the Department's digital journey, including:

Smart Metering:  Smithfield Market has replaced its manual bill generation process with automated smart metering.  

Patrol and Shift Software: Provides greater flexibility for security officers at New Spitalfields to issue fines on the spot.

Car Parking: Billingsgate is introducing a modern parking payment collection system which will replace the coin machine.

At this point, the Chairman enters the room and takes the Chair.

The Department has been working in collaboration with other departments and is emphasising on going mobile, which will allow the team to record an inspection live and share the information with the business it’s just inspected. The Heathrow Animal Reception Centre’s Custom Clearance has seen a positive impact due to its digitalisation and has led to faster services and less waiting time.  Additionally, the Office of the Coroner is now cloud-based, allowing Officers to work remotely. The Markets & Consumer Protection now seeks to look further into AI/Robotic Process Automation, which can cover some of the repetitive tasks and having information in multiple languages.

A Member asked where the City of London was with the adoption of IT and the role IT has on the Port Health.  Members were assured that at present Officers have access to remote working at the

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Sub-Committee considered the report of the Chamberlain on the City of London Corporation Information Management strategy.

At this point, Mr Jeremy Mayhew enters the room and subsequently leaves the room.

RESOLVED – That the Sub-Committee agree on the Information Management strategy – Appendix A.

Report of the Chamberlain

The Sub-Committee received the report of the Chamberlain on the City of London’s responsible business commitments and the Responsible Procurement Strategy 2016-19. The report included an update on the results of the social responsibility commitments made in the IT agreement. There is a growing trend across the industry for more ethical social governance focusing on the environment. The City of London has learned much from this experience and will use this to improve requirements for future contracts.

 RESOLVED – That the Sub-Committee notes the report.

Report of The Chamberlain.

The Sub-Committee received the report of the Chamberlain on Draft IT Business Plan 2019/20.

RESOLVED – That the Sub-Committee notes the report.

At this point, Mr. John Chapman left the room.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Sub-Committee received the report of the Chamberlain on IT Division – IT Service Delivery Summary. There was a discussion around the recent network disruption/outage impacting multiple services across the City of London. A high priority concern was raised with the Agilisys teams, who had worked with City officers throughout the night to restore the full services. Service resumed fully on Friday morning at 7 am.

Members were informed that a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) failed at the main data centre, resulting in hardware failure. While many critical systems were down some  services hosted elsewhere remained uninterrupted.  Agilisys has launched its own investigation into the outage and will be sharing the finding with the City of London.

Members were further assured that this was not a malicious attack on the IT system but purely a systems failure. This was the first time such outage had occurred in the last four years.

RESOLVED – That the Sub-Committee notes the report.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Sub-Committee received the report of the Chamberlain on IT Division Risk Update.

RESOLVED – That the Sub-Committee notes the report.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Sub-Committee received a report of the Chamberlain on CR 16 Information Security Risk. Cyber threats are a   complex, dynamic and highly technical risk area. The City of London and the City of London Police have adopted the NCSC security maturity system and will reduce the risk rating when appropriate maturity levels have been reached. A paper will be presented to the next sub-committee meeting outlining any recommended expenditures to reach the desired maturity levels.

The City of London and the City of London Police has invested in Microsoft platform and other best of breed security technology to protect its data.  

RESOLVED – That the Sub-Committee notes the report.

There were no questions.

There were no items of urgent business.

MOTION - That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

RESOLVED - That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of the Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

To agree the Non Public Minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 30 May 2019 be approved as a correct record.

RESOLVED: That the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 30 May 2019 be approved as an accurate record.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Sub-Committee received a report of the Chamberlain on IT Division – IT Disaster Recovery Test. 

RESOLVED – That the Sub-Committee notes the report.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Sub-Committee received a joint report of the Chamberlain and the Commissioner of the City of London Police.

RESOLVED – That the Sub-Committee notes the report.

Joint report of the Chamberlain and the Commissioner of the City of London Police.

The Sub-Committee received a joint report of the Chamberlain and the Commissioner of the City of London Police.

RESOLVED – That the Sub-Committee notes the report.

Joint report of the Chamberlain  and the Commissioner of the City of London Police.

The Sub-Committee received a joint report of the Chamberlain and the Commissioner of the City of London Police on the City of London Police IT Modernisation Programme.

RESOLVED – That the Sub-Committee notes the report.

There were no non-public questions.

There was no other non-public business.