Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Jeremy Mayhew.

There were no declarations.

To agree the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 17 May 2012.

RESOLVED: That the minutes be approved as an accurate record, subject to those Members of the Sub Committee who were attending in advance of their formal appointment by the Finance Committee being marked as ‘In attendance’.

MATTERS ARISING:

In response to a question, Members were advised that expressions of interest in serving on the Information Systems Sub Committee would be extended to all Members of the Court of Common Council in advance of the April 2013 Finance Committee meeting to ensure that the Sub Committee would have a full complement of Members should the Finance Committee not wish to fill all the vacancies.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Chief Information Officer set out the draft high-level IS Strategy and informed the Sub Committee that this would be developed in more detail over the coming weeks. Members were supportive of the general approach and governance arrangements but were keen for it to include a statement of direction on technologies and some operational detail about how the Strategy would be implemented.

RESOLVED: That the Chief Information Officer would submit the final IS Strategy to the Sub Committee meeting on 19 February 2013.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Sub Committee considered progress on the IS Review (Sourcing Options) and were advised that soft market testing had been completed.

It was noted by Members that this was an excellent initiative and all staff involved should be thanked.

To ensure that the OJEU process was approached in as simple as way as possible, Members requested that the Chief Information Officer maintain personal oversight of the process. In response to the Sub Committee’s request to be kept involved in the tendering process, it was agreed that a meeting would be held at 10.30am on 5 November 2012.

RECEIVED

Report of the Chamberlain.

Members considered the update report and although the format was good, they noted a number of concerns relating to the content. In particular, they requested a revision of the report to include:

·         an indication of corporate priorities

·         a full definition for the ‘white’ RAG status

·         update information on all points currently indicated by ‘TBC’

·         clarity on the timescales for completion (and reasons for any delay)

With regards to the City’s website, the Deputy Town Clerk advised Members that Officers were working hard to resolve the workflow issue relating to updating website content. The website was deliberately not marketed, and although the number of visitors had decreased, an initial survey had indicated a high level of satisfaction - Members would be updated on this matter in due course. Members noted that Officers should ensure that the ‘Visit the City’ android and iPhone app remains compatible with the most up-to-date operating systems.

By way of explaining the delay in the project to replace the City Corporation’s property management system (Manhattan), the Chamberlain advised that this had been a deliberate decision whilst scoping work was done to see if there is any merit in assessing Manhattan and the financial management system (Oracle) in tandem to see if further efficiencies could be made. It was noted that this area should be marked as ‘Amber’ due to the inherent risks and a full update would be included in the revised report.

RESOLVED: That the report be revised and reissued to Members by 31 October 2012.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Sub Committee considered an update report in respect of on-going implementation and use of the new committee management system (Modern.gov) including on-going implementation issues and future activities for enhanced use of the software.  

Members noted that the system had supported more efficient working practices within the Committee & Member Services team when preparing and publishing Committee papers but were keen for the benefits to Members and the public to be fully realised. In particular, they were disappointed that the ‘app’ which would allow Members to access non-public papers via their iPads (rather than via the Intranet as currently available) was not likely to be available until early 2013 and that the calendar synchronisation had been slightly delayed due to some technical issues. Members were keen to be involved in the calendar synchronisation testing stage which would be progressed as a matter of priority.

Members also noted some difficulty in navigating separate PDF document packs on their iPads where papers were issued late. The Chairman noted that the new version of ‘PDF expert’ had introduced tabs at the bottom of the screen which aided navigation significantly and offered to assist Members in upgrading and using this software.

The Deputy Town Clerk noted Members concerns and advised that as a result of the iPad trial we were pressing Modern.gov to drive forward the development of the app allowing access to non-public papers as a matter of priority. In the meantime, PDF document packs would be circulated by email and Officers would continue to liaise with Modern.Gov to ensure that progress was made on these areas.

With regards to longer-term ambitions to reduce printing costs, one Member stated that there were options to reduce printing by not circulating a separate agenda and removing blank pages. The Deputy Town Clerk advised the Sub Committee

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Sub Committee considered a report detailing the iPad project progress to date.

Members asked when they would get confirmation that they could upgrade to iOS6 and were advised that they could do this now but they may prefer to wait for a briefing note explaining any issues that would be issued shortly.

One Member noted that the iPad guidance cards that had been circulated to Members had been very well received.

RECEIVED

One Member requested that the policy regarding access to websites such as twitter, facebook and other social media sites in the Member’s room be reviewed, particularly as these are increasingly used as a way of communicating with constituents.

The Chief Information Officer agreed to update Members on this by the end of the week.

There was no other 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 the 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.

There were no non-public questions.

There was no other business.