Invitees:

Cllr Hywel Williams, Deputy Leader;
Darren Mepham, Chief Executive;
Martin Morgans, Head of Performance and Partnership Services;
Randal Hemingway, Head of Finance;

Caron Cant, Interim Digital Transformation Programme Lead.

The Chief Executive reported on an update on the Digital Transformation Programme and provided an overview of the overall aims of the Digital Transformation Strategy, including those projects already identified.  He stated that a number of approaches in England had been looked at by the Corporate Management Board in developing the programme due to a lack of similar programmes being implemented by Welsh local authorities. 

He informed the Committee that a hybrid approach had been adopted which relied on internal and external resources supplemented with specialist skills and expertise procured from external suppliers as needed; this allowed a flexible approach to be adopted.  He stated that there had been a very strong user focus in developing the strategy and that the programme was not about an ICT programme but was about transformation supported by ICT.  The Transformation Programme supports the Corporate Plan and One Council ethos.  Digital Transformation had been used widely by banks and the retail sector to transform their services.  He informed the Committee that Caron Cant who had experience in several other local authorities had been engaged to help with the digital transformation process. 

The Chief Executive informed the Committee that a “Digital Roadmap” had been developed to highlight the work to be delivered within the programme and within that a series of Work Packages had been set having their own budget and milestones.  Work Package 1 involved the development of My Account which is an online feature and allows residents, staff and Members to access services such as council tax; housing benefit, waste and recycling.  The programme was initially was focusing on council tax and housing benefit.  Work Package 2 involved the redesign of the website which was currently not fit for purpose.  Work Package 5 would see would involve the piloting of tablet devices to Members to assist with reducing paper.  HR Self-Serve would be used in Work Package 3 to develop the internal HR system. 

The Committee in welcoming the plan commented on the difficulty in finding Committee reports on the website and that introducing functionality such as web-chats would enhance the user experience.  The Committee however stated that caution would need to be exercised with this approach in areas where the demographic is different such as a high proportion of elderly people who would possibly prefer to have face to face contact with the Council.  The Committee questioned what steps it was taking to include and not exclude people.  The Digital Transformation Lead commented that a great deal of research had been done on user needs and a user centred approach and that the website redesign would have the input of citizens of all ages.  She stated that a user needs assessment is essential in the development of transforming services.  The Chief Executive informed the Committee that the Council did not want to be a “hole in the wall” Council and neither did it wish to exclude some citizens because of their circumstances.  The digital transformation programme was about giving citizens choice on how they wish to access Council services.  The Deputy Leader commented that the benefits of digital transformation are well made and some citizens would need help in accessing services digitally.  He stated that the he did not want the Council to be a faceless organisation and staff would be on hand to guide customers through digital services. 

The Committee questioned paragraph 3.3 of the report where it referred to transactions being completed digitally freeing up staff to deal with a range of services which seemed to be at variance with the financial implications of the report which referred to efficiency savings being made.  The Head of Finance confirmed that development of the My Account function would produce financial savings which would free up staff time from undertaking transactional work in connection with Council Tax and Housing Benefit to focus on the recovery of income.  He referred to an example where an officer had been retained in his Department who had recovered income by threefold on his salary following the transfer of fraud staff to the DWP.  The Digital Transformation Lead informed the Committee that the programme was about delivering a qualitative service and not about losing jobs. 

The Committee questioned how the recycling and waste contract would fit in to the digital transformation programme.  The Digital Transformation Lead informed the Committee that waste and recycling had been included in My Account  and will ultimately be present on My Account (once the new provider arrangements with Kier are established) which allowed residents, staff and Members to access those services online and would be included when the new website is launched.  The timescale for Launching Council Tax and Phase 1 of the website (front page, interface page between the website and My Account and the associated My Account pages on the web (C/Tax first) will be launched in September (dependent on securing the right digital partner) the website as a whole will be developed in a module by module basis across services post September.  The Head of Performance and Partnership Services informed the Committee that the Council was discussing with the contractor a process for dealing with enquiries and complaints digitally.  The Deputy Leader stated that complaints on the waste and recycling contract would initially be dealt with by the Council and then signposted to the contractor. 

The Committee questioned whether there was sufficient time for the launch of the website and My Account in 6 months’ time.  The Digital Transformation Lead informed the Committee that the testing of systems with Council Tax and Housing Benefit will take place after year end and the launch in September will be an external launch.  The launch of My Account and Phase 1 of the website will take place in September and Council Tax will be the first service to go on-line.  The Deputy Leader commented on the importance getting it right as opposed to being restricted to time.  The Head of Finance commented that Council Tax will be the first service to go online.

The Committee commented on the potential difficulty delivering Work Package 5 – Member Services and on reducing the use of paper.  The Head of Performance and Partnership Services informed the Committee that the aim of Work Package 5 is to reduce the reliance on printed material and to this end the elected members who are members of the ICT Forum had agreed to pilot the use of tablet devices.  He stated that there was not one size fits all and Members will be given the option of having tablet devices or laptops, however there was a need to ensure that the Council’s data was secured.  He also referred to the work undertaken by the Democratic Services team in digitalising agendas through the use of the Modern.gov system. 

The Committee questioned how the digital transformation programme would fit in with existing systems in place.  The Head of Performance and Partnership Services informed the Committee that there was a need to ensure there was no duplication of existing with services being developed on My Account.  He stated that where a service could not be offered digitally the status quo would prevail.  The Committee questioned whether best practice in Wales had been considered.  The Head of Performance and Partnership Services stated that a great deal of research had been undertaken to look at the experiences of public bodies elsewhere.  He stated that the website would be designed in such a way that citizens would be able to navigate to the part of the website they desired in 3 clicks in line with industry standards.      

The Committee requested detail on the revenue and capital costs of the programme.  The Head of Finance informed the Committee that £2.5m had been included in the capital programme to cover the costs associated with digital transformation and there may be some additional costs which would be met from revenue.  The Committee questioned whether there would be a net saving derived from the programme.  The Chief Executive stated that the costs of the digital transformation had been established in the Business Case and based on the experiences of Councils elsewhere who had implemented similar programmes. 

The Chairperson thanked the invitees for their contribution.

Conclusions 

1. The Committee reflected on the level at which the report and associated documents were pitched at in that the detail, particularly in the presentation attached, was too technical and not really suitable for the public.  Members recommended that any public documents relating to the Digital Transformation need to be produced in a manner that provide a clear picture of the changes being introduced and enable the public to understand exactly what is going on and how it will affect them.

Further Information Request

2. The Committee requested further information on the timescales associated with each of the work packages.

The Committee agreed to put forward Digital Transformation as a suggested item on the future FWP in order to further monitor the project including its potential savings and risks.