Agenda item

ICT Commissioning Review

Report of the Cabinet Member Corporate Services

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member Corporate Services introduced the report and explained that whilst the service had been successful in delivering a number of high profile projects such as the support and hosting the centre of excellence provision to GO Shared Service, it was a service under pressure.

It had been acknowledged that the creation of GO could provide the catalyst for other shared service arrangements between the GO partners. The ICT Commissioning review had provided an opportunity to consider and evaluate the options available to the Council and to recommend a way forward.

The Cabinet Member reported that three viable options had emerged-outsourcing, enhanced in-house provision and shared service. No matter which option was chosen it would require a similar level of investment to update the infrastructure to what would be considered appropriate for servers and storage hardware. Discussions have taken place with the GO partner councils to establish willingness and readiness to share ICT. With Cotswold District and West Oxfordshire already progressing to sharing the opportunity arose for Cheltenham to share with the Forest of Dean leaving open the future potential for 4 way sharing between the GO partners.

In terms of the business case, although over the next five years there would need to be a slightly larger investment in the Shared Service option-in the region of an additional £16k capital and £33.5k revenues , the savings which would be made are significantly larger.


The Cabinet Member stated that all the recommendations of the ICT scrutiny review had been taken on board.

 

Members were supportive of the recommendations and paid tribute to all those involved in the review. A shared service represented a sound way forward to achieve a robust and reliable system of modern standards.

 

RESOLVED

 

  1. That the ICT Infrastructure Upgrade Strategy at Appendix A be approved and that Council be recommended to approve the allocation of funding to finance the programme as part of the budget setting process for 2013/14.

 

  1. That the ICT Review Business Case at Appendix B be approved

 

  1. that the development of a Business Case for 4 way sharing between the GO partner councils (Forest of Dean District Council, Cotswold District Council, West Oxfordshire District Council) be endorsed with any decision being brought back to Cabinet at the latest by August 2015 and that the service delivery model (i.e. outsourcing; managed service etc.) be reviewed again at that time.

 

  1. Subject to obtaining the agreement of the GO partner councils, CBH Limited and Ubico Limited to :

 

  • Approve the sharing of the council’s ICT service with the Forest of Dean District Council, as lead authority.
  • Delegate authority to the Director of Resources in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Corporate Services and the Borough Solicitor to enter into an agreement under Section 101 Local Government Act 1972 and s19 and s20 Local Government Act 2000 with Forest of Dean District Council, as the lead authority, for the provision of ICT services as outlined in Annex A of the ICT Business Case (Services in Scope for ICT Services) with effect from 1st April 2013 to January 2016.
  • Delegate authority to the Director of Resources in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Corporate Services and the Borough Solicitor to enter into an agreement under Section 101 Local Government Act 1972 and s19 and s20 Local Government Act 2000 for the receipt of GO ICT Hosting and Support with effect from 1 April 2013 with the Forest of Dean District Council as lead authority for the GO Hosting and Support Centre of Excellence. This agreement may be incorporated into the s101 agreement referred to above.
  • In order to ensure that existing agreements are consistent with the new agreements mentioned above to delegate authority to the Director of Resources in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Corporate Services and the Borough Solicitor to make consequential amendments to the following GO agreements:

 

i)Collaboration Agreement dated 8th November 2010 (as varied (1st April 2012)

 

ii)ERP System supply contract with SCC dated 8th November 2010.

 

  1. The council’s ICT staff whose roles fall within the scope of the list of services outlined in the service directory (Annex A to the Business Case) transfer to Forest of Dean District Council with effect from 1st April 2013 in accordance with the Transfer of Undertaking (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006.

Supporting documents: