Agenda and minutes

Any views reached by the Sub Committee were considered by the Chamberlain after the meeting in accordance with the Court of Common Council’s Covid Approval Procedure who will make a formal decision having considered all relevant matters. This process reflected the current position in respect of the holding of formal Local Authority meetings and the Court of Common Council’s decision of 15th April 2021 to continue with virtual meetings and take formal decisions through a delegation to the Town Clerk and other officers nominated by him after the informal meeting has taken place and the will of the Sub Committee is known in open session. Details of all decisions taken under the Covid Approval Procedure will be available on line via the City Corporation’s webpages.

Apologies were received from Deputy Roger Chadwick and Alderman Prem Goyal for an early departure from the meeting.

There were no declarations.

To agree the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 26th March 2021.

RESOLVED: That the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 26 March 2021 be approved as an accurate record.

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 of the Sub-Committee’s proposed work plan for forthcoming meetings.

Members were advised that Action 3 had been completed.

The Town Clerk provided an update on Action 6. Members had been approached to have the Mod.Gov app installed. 36 Members had registered and most members of the Sub-Committee were using it on regular basis. The Town Clerk was in the process of collating feedback; it was clear that some users were very happy on how it functioned. However, officers were also aware of user issues and in order to address these, officers had engaged in a discussion with Civica. The rollout of the app was now happening on a wider basis but take up was still limited. The Chairman noted that when you annotate a document it stores locally on device, therefore should something happen to the device, one would lose annotations as well. Drop-in sessions were running to allow Members to learn how to use the app and get the most out of it. These would run weekly to early July.  Ongoing support would include resources, such as guides and videos.

Following a question, officers confirmed that as this was a pilot, it had not been issued
co-optees yet. As you do not need to use a COL device, there should not be an issue with co-optees using the system. The work was generally encouraging but there were some frustrations in need of addressing. If the app moves beyond a pilot phase, it would need to be a proper project as it had already proven resource intensive.

RESOLVED – That the Sub-Committee notes the report.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Sub Committee considered a report of the Chamberlain setting out items for consideration at future meetings.

RESOLVED – That the Sub-Committee notes the report.

Presentation by the Chamberlain.

The Sub Committee considered a presentation from the Chamberlain regarding proposals to support Departments along the Digital Services Strategic Road Map pathways.

The Sub-Committee were given updates on the volume of work delivered through Microsoft. The use of Teams has increased up to 2300 regular users, this number was at 1200 a year ago. There was an increase in Teams meetings being held. Skype had been retired by the City early, ahead of Microsoft decommissioning it.

The newly refurbished AV equipment in the meeting rooms at Guildhall were already proving their worth – but usage was expected to increase along with the return to office working.

It was noted that it was not helpful to directly compare departments due to types of roles held. For example, officers in Open spaces and Markets would not necessarily be desk based for much of the day (if any). This was not negative, but it was interesting to see adoption/take up.

SharePoint usage had increased from 1200 sites to 1800. This had become a key tool in last year.

IT were reaching out to departments to find out what was holding them back and finding digital solutions, instilling a culture of continuous improvement.  There was an ambition to benchmark against other organisations, particularly those with Local Authority functions, in order to learn lessons on hard to reach areas and digital inclusion policy and training

RESOLVED – That the presentation is noted.

Report of the Chamberlain

The Sub-Committee considered an oral update from the Chamberlain.

A delegated authority was sought for a Gateway 3-5 Report concerning the new telephony solution. Current equipment was 20 years old and no longer fit for purpose. There were a few options available to the City, including a Mitel core platform and upgrading for an E5 license for Microsoft. This option came at an additional cost, but Members were keen to measure the cost against the additional benefits, such as strengthened cyber security.

The Chairman requested that a meeting be held between himself, relevant officers, the Deputy Chairman, Chairman of Finance Committee and Dawn Wright so that they could be consulted on the options.

RESOLVED - That Members delegate authority to consider a Gateway 3-5 Report on the new Telephony System to the Town Clerk, in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Sub-Committee.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Sub Committee considered a report of the Chamberlain regarding design and installation of Audio-Visual solutions for Meeting Rooms across the CoLP estate.

RESOLVED – That Members note the report.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Sub Committee considered a report of the Town Clerk regarding a project closure in respect of the design, build, support and hosting for a new CoL website.

RESOLVED – That Members not the report

Report of the Director of Community & Children's Services

The Sub Committee considered a report of the Director of Community & Children's Services regarding a new IT system with NHS interface to manage caseloads for Children and Adults Social Care users.

Last time work like this had been undertaken, officers underestimated effort to move data over. This was now added to risk and efforts had been made to mitigate that risk.

RESOLVED – That Members note the report.

Report of the Chamberlain

The Sub Committee considered a report from the Chamberlain outlining service incidents for CoL and CoLP.

RESOLVED – That the Sub Committee notes the report.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Sub Committee considered a report from the Chamberlain detailing risks and mitigation measures for the IT Division.

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 26th March 2021.

The Sub-Committee approved the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 26 March 2021 as an accurate record.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Sub Committee considered a report of the Chamberlain regarding the CoL Local Area and Wide Area Networks.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Sub Committee considered a report of the Chamberlain regarding an extensive programme of work to mitigate the risks identified within CR16.  

Report of the City Surveyor.

The Sub Committee considered a report of the Chamberlain seeking delegated authority for the Chamberlain to approve  a Gateway 5 report.  

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Sub Committee considered a report of the Chamberlain regarding the Public Sector Network for Policing.

There were no non-public questions.

There was no other non-public business.