Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Deputy Caroline Haines and Deputy James Thomson in advance of this meeting.

There were no declarations.

To agree the public minutes and non-public summary of the previous meeting held on 10 July 2025 as a correct record.

RESOLVED, that - the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 10 July 2025 be approved as an accurate record.

Report of The Chamberlain.

The Committee received a report of the Chamberlain in respect of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) Replacement. This project aimed to enable the migration of these connections by the end of 2026 to ensure a smooth transition to digital services for the City Corporation, City of London Police and all Institutional Departments.

A Member asked officers to what extent the use of adapters had been considered to convert to a PSTN device to work on an internet protocol environment. Officers advised the Committee that a total of 706 line across various electrical devices such as payment machines and lifts, and officers were engaging with departments on a case-by-case basis and looking at any simple solutions available, including adapters.

RESOLVED, that – the Digital Services Committee:

·       Approve Option 1 for the drawdown of an additional £600,000 for the migration of all remaining analogue lines and devices.

·       Note the reduced overall project budget of £1.15m (excluding risk) from an initial estimate of £2.5m.

·       Approve a Costed Risk Provision of £160k (to be drawn down via delegation to Chief Officer).

Report of The Chamberlain.

The Committee received a report of the Chamberlain in respect of the Chamberlain’s Business Plan Quarter 1 2025/26 Update. This report provided an update on the progress of Chamberlain's Department against Business Plan during quarter one of 2025/26.

RESOLVED, that – the report was received and its contents noted.

Report of The Chamberlain.

The Chairman advised Members of the impact of project sapphire and its impacts on the organisation, and it had been agreed that DITS officers would provide a monthly update to the Chairman of the Corporate Services Committee, and periodic reports would still be submitted to the Digital Services Committee.

The Deputy Chair asked for further clarification of who was representing the Digital Services Committee on the Programme Board to which the Chairman confirmed that he was now the representative.

A Member noted that the project was vital and crucial to the City Corporation and asked for officers to advise the Committee of how well the project was progressing, and that it’d be useful to talk to those who utilise the system. He suggested that a future meeting that services users be invited to speak so that Members could understand how  the ERP was operating. The Chairman advised the Committee of the weekly meetings held with the Director, Information and Technology, the Chamberlain and other DITS officers and suggested that the subject of interviews be discussed here before progressing further, and that Members would be provided with an update at a subsequent meeting. A Member asked if there was a plan to introduce online regular user surveys and the Director advised the Committee that there was a network of change champions who were surveyed on a regular basis. Officers also advised that there was software built into the solution which allowed for regular performance checks to be undertaken.

RESOLVED, that – the report was received and its contents noted.

Report of The Chamberlain.

The Committee received a report of the Chamberlain in respect of the DITS Portfolio Update. This report provided Members with an overview of the Digital, Information and Technology Service Portfolio Management Office (DITS PMO) and the portfolio of projects and programmes that were currently in-flight - at the time of writing numbering 107 projects.

RESOLVED, that – the report was received and its content noted.

Report of The Chamberlain.

The Committee received a report of the Chamberlain in respect of the Device Refresh and Windows 11 report which sought to provide the Committee with an overview and progress report of the Digital, Information and Technology Service’s project to refresh a proportion of City of London devices and to upgrade all devices to Windows 11.

A Member asked which existing equipment was being to upgraded and to what extent. The Director advised that where possible existing equipment would be upgraded to windows 11 and certain devices which had reached the end of their life cycle and those which didn’t satisfy the minimum requirements for Windows 11 and these devices would be returned to the provider in return for credit. Devices which could not be returned would be considered to be donated to areas of the organisation which faced digital exclusion.

RESOLVED, that – the report was received and its contents noted.

Report of The Chamberlain.

The Committee received a report of the Chamberlain in respect of the Digital Information Technology Service (DITS) – Service Delivery Summary. This report provided an overview of the current service provision as managed by DITS. Performance is measured monthly therefore for the purposes of this report, the most recent reporting month is July 2025.

RESOLVED, that – the report was 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 previous meeting held on 10 July 2025 as a correct record.

RESOLVED, that – the non-public minutes of the previous meeting held on 10 July 2025 were approved as a correct record.

Report of The Chamberlain.

The Committee received a report of the Chamberlain in respect of the Risk Appetite Statement.

Report of The Chamberlain.

After consultation with the Chairman this item was withdrawn from the agenda.

Report of The Chamberlain.

The Committee received a report of the Chamberlain in respect of the Future Network Programme Update.

Report of The City Surveyor.

The Committee received a report of the City Surveyor in respect of the Oracle Property Manager (OPN) Replacement (MRI Horizon).

Report of The Chief Information Security Officer.

The Committee received a report of the Chief Information Security Officer in respect of the Cyber Security Update.

Report of The Commissioner of City of London Police.

The Committee received a report of the Commissioner of City of London Police in respect of the City of London Police Digital Data and Technology Service Improvement and Transformation Programme.

There was one non-public question.

The Committee received a report of joint report of the Executive Director, Environment Department and the Commissioner of City of London Police in respect of the Secure City Programme (SCP) Issues Report.

There was no other non-public business.