Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Ian Bishop-Laggett, Caroline Haines, Alderman Sir William Russell, and Deputy James Thomson.

Ian Bishop-Laggett and Deputy James Thomson observed the meeting virtually.

There were no declarations.

To agree the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 13^th May 2024.

A Member raised that at the previous meeting, it had been noted that approval of the Generative AI Standard Operating Procedure had been delayed owing to waiting for review from the Independent Data Ethics Advisory Council. It was agreed that this would be captured under Item 6 of the public minutes and non-public summary of the previous meeting.

RESOLVED -That the public minutesand non-public summary of the meeting held on 13^th May 2024 be approved as an accurate record, as amended above.

Under matters arising, the Committee heard that the Independent Data Ethics Advisory Council had met and reviewed the Generative AI Standard Operating Procedure in June 2024. It was anticipated that this would be published shortly, and a copy would be emailed to Members of the Committee.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Committee received a report of the Chamberlain, concerning approval for a project to engage with a third party to conduct an audit of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), to identify necessary actions and costs relating to the transition to an Internet Protocol (IP).

The Committee heard that any City Corporation operational property, including housing offices, was in scope for the project. The audit would remove all unrequired lines or connections and be able to better track the connections. It was explained that a metallic path facility (MPF) was a type of cable which provided an additional three years to transition to an IP.

Owing to the complexity of the network and the number of connections and sites, a physical audit was required which was time consuming, which provided explanation for the cost of the project. There would be a competitive tender for the third party.

It was queried what the backup would be for the digital IP. The response was that it would depend on the solution on a case-by-case basis. The member emphasised the need for redundancy and that this must be in scope for the project.

RESOLVED – That the Digital Services Committee:

·       Approve the budget of £200,000 for the appointment of a consultant to reach the next Gateway, subject to the release of funds by Resource Allocation Sub Committee, Policy and Resources Committee, and the City Bridge Foundation Board (CBF).

·       Note the total estimated cost of the project is subject to an audit of our current state.

·       Note that an indicative amount of £2.5m has been put forward under the City’s Capital and Supplementary Revenue (SRP).

·       That a Costed Risk Provision of £50,000 is approved up to the next Gateway as detailed in the Risk Register in Appendix 2.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Committee received a report of the Chamberlain, concerning the revenue outturn for 2023/24 for the Digital Services Committee.

RESOLVED – That Members note:

(a)   the revenue outturn for 2023/24; and

(b)   the agreed central risk budget carry forwards into 2024/25, amounting to £97,000

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Committee received a report of the Chamberlain, concerning an update to the Digital, Information and Technology Service (DITS) following the co-design sessions and the changes to the DITS Senior Leadership Team, the commitment to look at the whole of the DITS following the recruitment of the Assistant Director roles, and the approval of the Digital, Data, and Technology Strategy.

RESOLVED – That the report be received, and its contents noted.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Committee received a report of the Chamberlain, concerning the service delivery summary for the Digital, Information and Technology Service (DITS).

A member of the Committee referenced the twice weekly “scrums” in the report. It was explained that these were a regular review mechanism for City of London and City of London Police which involved representatives for resolve groups. This looked at queue management, ensuring that work was up to date, and to report on any outstanding tickets.

It was explained that service metrics in Appendix 1 were like-for-like against the metrics used for Agilysys, measured using auto-responses. There would be further work to propose new metrics to reflect the work undertaken with regards to in-house incident performance for the City of London and City of London Police.

RESOLVED – That the report be received, and its contents noted.  

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 13^th May 2024.

RESOLVED – that the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 13^th May 2024 be approved as a correct record.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Committee received a report of the Chamberlain, concerning approval to endorse the contract for the provision of End User Devices, for onward approval at the Court of Common Council

Report of the Chief Information Security Officer.

The Committee received a report of the Chief Information Security Officer, concerning an overview of the method process to provide a baseline approach for the introduction of the NCSC Cyber Assurance Framework across the City of London and its Institutional departments.

Report of the Chief Information Security Officer.

The Committee received a report of the Chief Information Security Officer, concerning an update on cyber security.

There were no non-public questions.

Two items of non-public urgent business were raised.