Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive apologies for absence from Committee members.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Christophers, Teignbridge District Council.

To sign the minutes of the meeting held on 26 September 2017.

The minutes of the meeting held on the 26 September 2017 were taken as read and signed by the Chair as correct.

Councillors are reminded of the need to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests that relate to business on the agenda and which have not already been included in the register of interests, before any discussion takes place on the item. Unless the interest is sensitive, you must also disclose the nature of the interest. In accordance with the Council's Code of Conduct, you must then leave the room and must not participate in any further discussion of the item.  Councillors requiring clarification should seek the advice of the Monitoring Officer prior to the day of the meeting.

No declarations of disclosable pecuniary interest were made.

To consider the report of the Strata IT Director.

The Strata IT Director presented his report to update Members on the progress within Strata – presentation attached to minutes.

The Teignbridge Director commented that the Business Plan for 2018/19 was on target to make the predicated savings of £382,000 while a revised plan would be brought to the Executive Committee later in the year. Strata now had a better understanding of costs and customer expectations and there was a need to look at the convergence plan versus the three Council’s key proprieties. The out of hours support service had proved to be a success. It had been funded by Strata monies but, from the 6 February 2018, would be funded by the individual Councils on a percentage basis.

The Strata IT Director stated that there was a lot of new technology emerging in the market place and that this could have an impact on any future business plans. There is likely to be an increase of 16% in the cost of Microsoft licences, but it was anticipated that this increase could be off set against savings elsewhere. All increases in contracts were being challenged and all the budgets were being tightly managed by individual Managers.

Members welcomed the communication from Strata with regards to the recent publicity surrounding the IT Security threat and supported the continuation of the out of hour’s service. They felt this was important as any problems could be dealt with quickly and it helped to alleviate risk.

The Strata IT Director clarified that Strata was looking into understanding the issues of the slow start-up of the Global Desk top for some users.

Strata Joint Scrutiny Committee considered the report at its meeting on 30 November 2017 and its comments were reported.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

To consider the report of the Support and Infrastructure Manager.

The Support and Infrastructure Manager presented the report setting out the proposed roll out schedule for the new Global Comms platform. It made up by two key products, Skype for Business as the telephone system and Anywhere365 as the new contact centre.

Members were advised that it was proposed to roll out East Devon over March to May 2018, Exeter, August to October, Teignbridge February to April 2019 and satellite sites May to November 2019 with the reasons for the prioritisation set out in the report.

Members supported the time table for the roll out of the new Global Comms platform.

Strata Joint Scrutiny Committee considered the report at its meeting on 30 November 2017 and its comments were reported.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

To consider the report of the Alternate Director with lead responsibility for Human Resources.

The report of the Alternate Director with lead responsibility for Human Resources was submitted updating Members on the staff survey. In summary, 73% of the workforce had responded and there had been an improvement in every area compared with 2016. 88% of the 49 respondents to this particular question would recommend Strata as a place to work, compared with 87% in 2015 and 68% in 2016. Survey attached to minutes.

Members welcomed the positive improvement in the feedback from Strata staff.

Strata Joint Scrutiny Committee considered the report at its meeting on 30 November 2017 and its comments were reported.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

To consider the frequency of Strata Joint Executive and Strata Joint Scrutiny in accordance with the Terms of Reference.

‘From the second year of operation of Strata, the JEC and JSC can determine the frequency of the meetings following consideration of the Committee’s projected workload’

The following meetings are currently in the calendar:-

Strata Joint Executive Committee

20 March 2018

25 September 2018

2 April 2019

Strata Joint Scrutiny Committee

15 March 2018

5 September 2018

19 March 2019

The frequency of the Strata Joint Executive and Strata Joint Scrutiny Committee meeting were considered.

Members discussed the need for the Committee to be strategically focused going forward and that there was a need for officers from all three Councils to meet with Strata officers to discuss the convergence plan versus individual Council own needs.

RESOLVED that Strata Joint Executive Committee and Strata Joint Scrutiny Committee be held every four months. Dates to be advised.

RESOLVED that, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of item 11 on the grounds that its involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part I, Schedule 12A of the Act. 

RESOLVED that, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part I, Schedule 12A of the Act. 

To consider the report of the Director responsible for Finance.

The report of the Director responsible for Finance was submitted advising that Strata had been given a total of £6,104,000 to run the IT Services in 2017/18 along with funding for various capital projects. The 2017/18 Business Plan had revised the savings profile set out in the original Business Cases over the initial ten year period of the Company.

The report set out a suggested change to the original method of funding agreed at the inception of the company and the pros and cons of this new system compared with the existing were set out. It was noted that the Strata Board wished to focus on improving service further rather than implementing a new charging system.

Members discussed the issue of how Strata was funded, they agreed that the status quo should remain for 2018/19 and that a paper be brought to the Joint Executive Committee outlining the funding options and the implications for the individual Councils and Strata.

Strata Joint Scrutiny Committee considered the report at its meeting on 30 November 2017 and its comments were reported.

RESOLVED that:-

(1)             the report be noted; and

(2)             a new charging policy not be introduced at this stage but a paper be brought forward with funding options for Strata with implications for the Councils and Strata.