Resources Select Committee Minutes 01-11-04

35. MINUTES

The minutes of the meeting held on 11 October 2004 were confirmed.

36. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

There were no declarations at this stage.

37. FORWARD PLAN

The Select Committee was advised of the items contained in the Forward Plan for November 2004 to February 2005 relating to areas coming within its remit.

The Portfolio Holder for Resources indicated that the Council would be putting forward some land as part of the consideration for a special purpose vehicle for Cowes Waterfront which would help bring inward development to Cowes. Furthermore, he stated that the Council were on target for e - government however, he believed there were areas that still needed face to face contact. The revised Communications and PR Strategy was due to be considered in January 2005 and the Portfolio Holder advised members it was an important item that needed to be got right.

38. PROGRESS REPORT ON THE BEST VALUE IMPROVEMENT PLAN FOR PROCUREMENT

The Compliance and Risk Manager gave an update on progress made since April 2004. The Action Plan set out in detail actions the Council needed to take in order to both improve its procurement performance and to match the expectations of the emerging national agenda.

A recommendation of the Gershon Review was that local authorities should make a 2½% saving through procurement. It was believed the Government would top slice the revenue support grant. Training courses on procurement had been organised but had to be postponed due to the lack of take up. Members believed that procurement training should be undertaken as part of the PPR process. The Learning Centre had made procurement one of its key objectives since it would be reviewed by the CPA Inspectors in the coming year.

Members discussed the Gateway process whereby any strategic or significant procurement would be subject to scrutiny before being allowed to proceed. It was believed that the process should be adopted and included with the new Contract Standing Orders.

The Select Committee were advised that nine Regional Centres of Excellence had been established with the intention of improving collaborative procurement. The Island was part of the Kent region. Members asked that if efficiency savings were not made could the Council come out of its Regional Centre. The Compliance and Risk Manager advised they could, but did not believe it would help the Council in the long run as the potential benefits far outweighed any costs.

There was some discussion with regard to building choice into the procurement process, members asked if there was no tangible progress was there any ethereal progress. The Portfolio Holder advised that the Council had set up a web site. The voluntary sector had also offered an alternative to some of the Council’s alternative needs.

ACTION TO BE TAKEN BY THE HEAD OF HUMAN RESOURCES :

Procurement training should be included in PPR’s for those staff members involved in procurement as part of their role.

ACTION TO BE TAKEN BY THE PORTFOLIO HOLDER FOR RESOURCES AND THE COMPLIANCE AND RISK MANAGER :

The Portfolio Holder ensures that the Gateway process be adopted as policy for strategic and significant contracts in all circumstances and be included within the new Contract Standing Orders.

39. MEMBERS ICT

The Democratic Services Manager reminded the Select Committee that at its meeting on 6 September 2004 they had raised questions with regard to ICT and asked that the type, level and frequency of ICT support be reviewed and reported back.

It was anticipated that following the 2005 election any new members taking up the provision of ICT equipment would need training. Using the present councillor’s experiences a training package could be put in place for any new councillors. The training should also need to be split into different levels with the basics level at the start then leading to higher levels at councillor got more competent. There was also a need to tie in with the GAGS project with further options of enabling Members to access issues raised by their electorate through the CRM software.

Members had some concerns with the costs involved when accessing Outlook from home. They believed there should be the ability for them to use their own computers at home although it was frequently difficult to access the system especially at weekends.

ACTION TO BE TAKEN BY THE DEMOCRATIC SERVICES MANAGER :

The Terms of Reference for the review of ICT support for members be agreed and a detailed report be submitted to the Select Committee in January 2005.

40. ORGANISATION DEVELOPMENT SERVICE PLAN 2005/06

The Head of Organisational Development advised members that the e government agenda now had a clear definition from central government.

The Select Committee asked if other services with IT requirements in their Service Plans had discussed those requirements. The Head of Organisational Development indicated that the level of discussion varied but he was made aware of those requirements. It was noted that the ICT Strategy was due to be revised in 2005. Members were made aware that the top priority revenue bid was the Exchange/Outlook upgrade. The process of appointing the BS:7799 Security Officer was underway.

Members asked if their current laptops were to be upgraded after the elections in 2005 and were advised it depended on what was wanted. The Select Committee asked whether after the elections outgoing councillor’s laptops would be collected or would they be given the opportunity to purchase them. They were advised that it had always been the intention to collect them in.

There was some question as to whether there were problems with council departments having different systems. As each section had a different specialist need which would need replacing in the cost of IT was getting more expensive. It was also noted that there was a need to renew and upgrade computers every three years.

Members noted that there was a large bid in for the Land and Property Gazetteer with a large variance of price over three years. It was explained that when buying hardware then the cost could normally be spread but with software the manufactures wanted any monies up front. The Gazetteer would give central database information.

There was a suggestion that if there was no money available then the other opportunity to bring money in would be to take on a Strategic Partner. The Select Committee were advised that PriceWaterhouseCooper had produced a first draft in respect of Strategic Partnering and had subsequently been asked to clarify certain points. The revised draft was expected later in the week and members asked that a report be brought back to the Select Committee in the future

ACTION TO BE TAKEN BYTHE PORTFOLIO HOLDER FOR RESOURCES :

The Portfolio Holder support the Exchange/Outlook Upgrade as a revenue bid in the budget round.

41. MEMBERS’ QUESTION TIME

Mrs M J Miller asked the Chairman if she was happy with the way the sale of 8a Clarence Road, East Cowes had been handled. The Chairman replied she was.

CHAIRMAN