Agenda item

Mr Billingham presented the report, advising that a review of the adequacy and effectiveness of the Council’s IT governance arrangements had taken place. He explained that the review had received moderate assurance and outlined the two medium-priority recommendations raised to support the Council in mitigating the identified risks.

It was noted that one of the recommendations related to the online training for staff and Members and, in response to questions, the Chief Executive advised that it was important to focus on those who had not passed the test and to offer support where required. In response to further debate and comments made, the Chairperson reminded the Committee that it had previously debated training and that, whilst not all training was mandatory, the Council was seeking to achieve the right balance. The Director of Strategy and Improvement reported that, following feedback from staff and Members, changes had been made to the provider used for training courses, with the current system having been more intuitive, courses having been shorter, and the Council’s new email system having the ability to highlight training requirements in areas such as cyber security.  

In response to a question regarding the ICT workforce recommendation, the Chairperson referred to a concern raised by the Committee in the previous year regarding the lack of investment in ICT (in terms of staff, software, licenses, etc.) and questioned whether the ICT team was operating at full capacity and whether managers had received training in budget management. The Director of Strategy and Improvement acknowledged the audit findings and outlined the changes that had been made to the ICT team as part of the Transforming Together Programme. She advised that the Council had also strengthened its organisational approach to workforce planning through the appointment of a new Learning and Development Officer.

The Chairperson highlighted some recent technical problems that had occurred in the Council Chamber prior to the start of a Committee meeting and the availability of IT to resolve such issues. The Director of Strategy and Improvement assured Members that there was a rota for onsite IT with a minimum of two staff on site every day and in addition, she was having further discussions with the Director of Legal and Governance regarding the resourcing of Committees.

There was some discussion regarding the ICT system and replacement of the microphones in the Council Chamber with some Members expressing concerns that any new system would meet the requirements of the Council and its residents. The Chief Executive advised that Officers were progressing a procurement process for a new IT system within the Council Chamber which included microphones and that further information would be provided to Members when available. A comment regarding IT systems and Local Government Reorganisation was raised and the Director of Finance provided further information.

In response to a question regarding leadership programmes for Members and the Senior Leadership Team, the Chief Executive advised that the Local Government Association supported Members and that Officers were encouraged to put themselves forward for professional and career development programmes. At this point, the Chairperson reminded Members of the Member Training Working Group and highlighted how any additional training identified by a Member would be supported.

It was queried why the Council had stopped using Member nameplates. In response, the Chairperson requested that these be reinstated and made available at each meeting for Members to collect upon entering the chamber.