Agenda item

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Sub-Committee considered a report of the Chamberlain on the Member’s IT Provision Policy.

The Sub-Committee was informed that the report proposes a new Policy for the provision of IT equipment to support the 125 elected Members of the City of London. The policy seeks to clarify some of the legacy support offered to Members, such as the use of printers and broadband.

The Sub-Committee was further advised that this policy and report  was written before the security updates, and as such, Members should make a note of this.

This was followed by another member who asked if the provision around the use of printers and the rules which govern the matter can be relaxed so that Members who do not live within the Square Mile can benefit from this given that in COVID-19, they are not allowed to come into the Guildhall in order to print any documents. The Chairman responded that the City of London is working to make better the use of electronic papers, rather than printing large volumes of papers. This was followed by another Member who echoed the same message as the Chairman.

Another member commented that in light of the virtual meeting, he has resorted to using multiple screens, and as such, he is not using any printed agenda packs; however, he raised concerns that once the meetings are in person again, the use of multiple screens may not be possible. 

The Deputy Chairman commented that they are multiple tools available in terms of working from a portal but there is a need to look at the costs and security aspect of such tools. This will allow Members to access papers both from their devices as well as the City of London devices. This has been replicated by other local authorities.

The Chairman noted that there is a need to improve the Member's experience around the digital journey.

The Chairman agreed that the report can be approved subject to looking at the period of renewal on the devices.  

RESOLVED – That the Sub-Committee approved the Member’s IT Provision Policy, as laid out in Appendix, and approved the actions in 1.4 to deliver the £40K per annum savings on Member’s IT services.