PAPER C

 

                                                                                                                Purpose : for Decision

                        REPORT TO THE EXECUTIVE

 

Date :              5 NOVEMBER 2003

 

Title :               IMPLEMENTATION OF ELECTRONIC GOVERNMENT – 3RD ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE ISLE OF WIGHT

 

JOINT REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO HOLDER FOR RESOURCES AND FIRE, EMERGENCY PLANNING AND COMSUMER PROTECTION

 

IMPLEMENTATION DATE : 17 November 2003

 


SUMMARY/PURPOSE

 

1.                  The Council is required to submit a return (known as the IEG or Implementing Electronic Government Statement) to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister showing corporate progress, actual and forecast, towards delivering 100% of its services electronically by 31st December 2005. The Executive is invited to approve these submissions and note the resource implications.

 

2.                  The Fire Authority bears a similar, discrete, responsibility to submit a return.

 

BACKGROUND

 

3.                  Although titled Implementing Electronic Government, the programme is for the modernising of Council Services including the Fire Authority, across England and Wales, using appropriate electronic channels such as the web and e-mail. This is the third such annual return (hence the shorthand notation IEG3); the previous two returns each successfully attracted £200,000 of funding.  At this time it is not known what funding will be made available this year.

 

4.                  The format required by the ODPM (traffic lights against progress) offers itself to a rating system of council progress towards the targets, similar to the Health Trusts. It is likely that councils judged to be making insufficient progress will be offered direction from the IDeA.

 

5.                  The Council’s programme for the modernising agenda runs under the headline of GAGS – Great Access to Great Services. Although the principle has been approved, the determination to delay funding until the financial year 2004-2005 raises additional challenges in planning to deliver the central government timetable of delivering 100% of its services electronically by 31st December 2005. In particular, the approaching national deadline of 31st December 2003 to deliver a Local Land & Property Gazetteer as part of the National Land & Property Gazetteer will not be delivered.

 

STRATEGIC CONTEXT

 

6.                  The modernising agenda has been set at a national level, with a number of projects (National Projects) funded by central government to assist all local councils (county, unitary, and district). The modernising agenda affects all agencies delivering services on the Island. Good progress has been made with our partners in Health and Housing in delivering electronic services to our clients.
Unsurprisingly, modernising plans for this agenda appear in service, corporate and community plans and strategies, albeit more prominently in some than others. Members may wish to consider how best to address this.

 

7.                  Implementing Electronic Government is the national mechanism for improving service delivery to the public of the Island. Great Access to Great Services is the Island mechanism for improving service delivery.

 

8.                  In relation to the Fire Authority submission, the priorities set out in the draft, reflect the Fairmap consultation draft.

 

CONSULTATION

 

9.                  Stakeholder consultation has taken place through the MORI surveys to inform the GAGS agenda. Discussions took place, and are ongoing, with key staff in the service provider units. Close liaison took place with Fire and Rescue Services to ensure alignment of the two IEG statements.

 

FINANCIAL/BUDGET IMPLICATIONS

 

10.             The implications have been set out by the Head of Organisational Development on page 27 of the Draft Corporate IEG Statement.

 

11.             Funding has not yet been confirmed for the GAGS programme. Although the forecasts show achievement of most of the targets by the deadline of 31st December 2005, this is conditional on funding being made available, both at the corporate level, and within service plans. Members may wish to carefully consider the likelihood of achieving these targets in the light of current resource constraints.

 

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

 

12.             Delivering electronic government, and the wider modernising agenda is a policy objective rather than a discrete statutory duty.  The significance of the policy does, however, make delivery to that agenda an essential part of delivering an excellent CPA rating and continually improving services under best value legislation – principally the LGA 1999.

 

OPTIONS

 

13.             Modernising Agenda options

 

(a)               The high-level risks are identified within the Great Access to Great Services programme. Each underpinning project has its own risk log, which is managed by the programme board.  This is the recommended option.

 

(b)               To amend the draft submission to reflect a different emphasis on the corporate aspirations for modern service delivery for the Isle of Wight.

 

EVALUATION/RISK MANAGEMENT

 

14.             Not achieving the modernising agenda target will disadvantage the public of the Island, and make the Council liable to strong external pressure, and possible sanctions, from central government.

 

15.             There are considerable risks to this IEG programme. Most of these are at a very high strategic level, eg change of government / government strategy. All council policies are aligned to the modernising agenda, but questions of resource and organisational transformation remain with the Isle of Wight Council’s implementation of this strategy.

 

16.             The high-level risks are identified within the Great Access to Great Services programme. Each underpinning project has its own risk log, which is managed by the programme board.

 

17.             There are no strategies and contingency plans as yet for failure to reach the national targets.

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

 

18.             To approve the submission of the Corporate and Fire Authority IEG3 statement as being a reflection of the Council’s aspirations for modern service delivery for the Isle of Wight, recognising that the resourcing mechanism to achieve that vision will be determined through the correct medium term budget planning exercises.

 

BACKGROUND PAPERS

 

19.             The Corporate Plans

20.             The local strategic plan Island Futures

21.             The ICT Service Plan

22.             IEG I and II

23.             Great Access to Great Services Programme Board Papers

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

 

24.             The IEG3 submission.

 

Contact Point :           John Clack, ICT Service Development Manager. Telephone (82) 3521, email [email protected]

 

D PRICE

 Head of Organisational Development

R BARRY

Portfolio Holder for Resources

 

D KNOWLES

Portfolio Holder for Fire, Emergency Planning and Consumer Protection