Agenda item

Joint report of the Town Clerk and Chamberlain.

The Sub-Committee considered a joint report of the Town Clerk and the Chamberlain on Committee Meeting Video Conferencing Software.

The Sub-Committee was informed that Microsoft Teams had been in use since 24 April 2020 to facilitate formal decision-making meetings on a

virtual basis but, since 26 May 2020, Zoom had been tested as an alternative platform through which to host virtual meetings. The report before Members set out the key findings arising from the Zoom testing period (26/05/20 -

23/06/20) and incorporated all the feedback that had been provided about use of the Microsoft Teams and Zoom platforms for the hosting of formal virtual committee meetings. Members of the sub-Committee were asked to determine, on the basis of that feedback and the security, cost and other considerations set out in the report, which virtual platform should be used to facilitate future formal committee meetings of the City Corporation. 

The Director of IT informed the Sub-Committee that the City of London had made significant investment in Microsoft Teams. Additionally, some of the initial functional differences between Zoom and Teams that were evident previously had now been addressed by Microsoft.  The Sub-Committee was assured that Microsoft was making significant investment in the Teams product with new features being released monthly which would quickly close any functionality gaps between Zoom and Teams. This included the development of a 7x7 gallery view to allow up to 49 participants to be seen at once, which was due to go live in August 2020. Members were advised that a Teams development roadmap is available to Members on request. From a security perspective, although Zoom had now addressed some of the early security concerns, there were still security risks associated with the platform.

The Sub-Committee was informed that, following a survey of London Local Authorities on 14th May 2020, to review which video conferencing tools were being used for public meetings, 20 (out of 33) were using Microsoft Teams and only 3 were using Zoom. With regards to the result of the all-Member survey, the Sub-Committee noted that whilst some Members clearly favoured the use of Zoom to participate in formal virtual meetings, there was a divergence of views amongst both users and those managing the platforms. As a result, the technological, resourcing and security factors associated with a permanent move to use of Zoom had to be taken into account. Members noted that Microsoft Teams was the City Corporation’s primary collaboration and video conferencing tool and a robust tiered support model was provided through the IT Managed Service, with further expertise and support provided to Members by the Technology Support Team. If Zoom were adopted as the video conferencing software for Committee meetings, this would result in significant costs as a result of additional support and licensing requirements.  Given the current situation, the financial implications of using Zoom were therefore considered to be a significant factor.

Members further noted several practical committee management considerations set out in Appendix A and highlighted by the Town Clerk, one of which was the need to identify a single platform for future use so all members could be provided with appropriate training and IT support.  It was noted that twice weekly drop-in sessions would be offered to all Members once a decision had been reached by the Sub-Committee so the sessions could be tailored to participation via the chosen platform.  All the aspects were discussed at length and, on the grounds that there were no significant benefits for choosing Zoom over Teams, the Sub-Committee agreed that all formal committee meetings should be facilitated through Microsoft Teams. In response to a query regarding whether it was possible to use both Zoom and Microsoft Teams, officers advised that it was not possible to support two different platforms due to significant resource implications and the confusion this may cause amongst some users.

The Sub-Committee, noting that the City Corporation has only one You Tube Channel on which to host live streamed meetings, which consequently restricts the number of meetings that can be scheduled in close proximity, requested that this be addressed as a matter of urgency to ensure that the calendar of meetings was not compromised as a result of technical factors.  The Chairman and Deputy Chairman asked to be kept updated about this matter. With regards to live-stream viewing statistics, officers advised that this data could be made available going forward.

The Sub-Committee requested that an email be circulated by the Town Clerk to all Members of the Court of Common Council, following consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman, to advise them about the outcome of the Zoom test and how the decision in respect of future use of Teams had been reached by the Sub-Committee.

RESOLVED – That the Sub-Committee:

(i) note the report;

(ii) agree that Microsoft Teams should be used by the Committee and Member Services Team to facilitate formal virtual committee meetings going forward;

(iii) an update about the Sub-Committee’s decision be drafted in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Digital Services Sub-Committee and circulated to all Members of the Court of Common Council to clarify how the decision was reached;

(iii)  the Microsoft Teams development roadmap be sent to all Members of the Sub-Committee by the IT Division; and

(iv) the IT Division undertake to establish a second You Tube channel on which City Corporation committee meetings can be hosted to minimise committee meeting scheduling implications.