Agenda item

This report provides an update on the progress of the ICT Strategy following a question from a member of the committee at the July meeting.

The Committee received a report providing an update on the progress of the ICT Strategy following the request from members at the July meeting.

The following matters were considered:

a)            Desktops. A Member of the Committee asked what proportion of the Council are using desktops and if there is any risk associated with desktops which are not reported in the update. The Head of ICT responded to explain that the Council has very few desktops, and that there is currently a programme of work to provide small form factor desktops for specialist use such as the print room, with these units being joined to the Council’s Microsoft 365 tenant and managed and deployed with Windows 11.

b)            Local Government Reorganisation. A Member of the Committee asked what actions are being taken to ensure EEBC’s IT changes are aligned with other local authorities in preparation for Local Government Reorganisation in Surrey. The Head of ICT explained that every month the Surrey Chief Officers group meets to discuss LGR and potential ways of working in the future. This provides the opportunity to securely share information that is not feeing into the official request for information programme. There is a dedicated resource for this programme at EEBC. The Head of ICT explained that it is too early to understand what the new unitary authority will look like from an ICT point of view and that most local authorities in Surrey are taking a keep the lights on approach to the ongoing support and development of the current IT systems.

c)            Revised Timeline. The Chair raised that the report shows that only 60% of this year’s objectives have been delivered due to delays and reprioritisation. The Chair asked what specific actions are in place to accelerate progress and what is the revised timeline to deliver the remaining objectives. The Head of ICT explained that there has been significant work undertaken to remove out of support servers and hardware in the last six months. The Head of ICT stated that it is likely that the percentage of completion will sit at 70% for the next Committee update and that the IT Health Check remediations are well developed and the telephony piece, which represents a significant part of the planned objectives for this year, has been assigned a specific member of the ICT team to prioritise and progress.

d)            Citrix. A Member of the Committee asked why the Council has not moved away from the citrix environment. The Head of ICT explained that at this moment in time the intention is to stay with citrix. He shared that conversations with the other districts and boroughs have shown that most are still using citrix environments, so to move away to an alternative platform would be overly complex at this time. He highlighted that the ICT team are looking at alternatives as the Council may have need to change. He stated that there may be a change in model of use of the citrix environment, potentially moving to an always on VPN and delivering applications via citrix rather than a full desktop.

e)            Legacy Networks. A Member of the Committee asked what the risks are, and service continuity plans associated with decommissioning legacy networks and upgrading fibre and connectivity in the key locations. The Head of ICT explained that with any upgrade to connectivity work, it happens in conjunction with the provider to ensure works are done during times of least network traffic, which can vary from site to site. He explained that there are back up plans in place and key staff available during any swaps or changeovers, specifically in relation to our estate. The Town Hall was upgraded in 2024 with a backup secondary circuit from an alternative provider set up to run critical services in an emergency. The Depot was also upgraded in 2024; network switches and Wi-Fi access points were upgraded at the same time. The Playhouse was upgraded this year, with legacy hardware upgraded and new high-capacity Wi-Fi access points. The capacity is there to upgrade Bourne Hall at some stage if needed, meaning the Council is covered in terms of resilience, with back up plans in place. The Member followed up by asked if it is written into contracts with IT service providers regarding the salvage value of copper. The Head of ICT stated that he had not seen it in any contracts before.

f)             Delivering IT Strategy. The Vice Chair asked what the top three risks are currently affecting the delivery of the ICT Strategy, how they’re being managed, and if they have been escalated through to the corporate risk register. The Head of ICT explained that the mitigation for the departure of experienced ICT personnel, risk delays and loss of critical knowledge, includes succession planning, documentation with key systems and active recruitment to maintain service delivery and delivery capacity. Staffing has been identified as a risk for both ICT and the wider organisation for the LGR work that is going on. A second risk would be the ongoing financial and staffing constraints that are affecting the pace and scope of ICT delivery. This is being managed by embedding ICT improvements into business as usual, prioritising high impact projects, and understanding the overall direction of travel dictated by LGR, including the likely tupe of staff into the new organisation. The third top risk is the Local Government Reorganisation creating strategic ambiguity for the scope, timing and impact of any changes remain unclear. At this stage, we can only make informed assumptions as to what LGR will involve for ICT, whether that is structural changes, shared services, or shifts in governance. To mitigate the risk of duplication or redundancy, the ICT strategy has adopted a hybrid infrastructure model that supports both current operations and potential future integration with neighbouring authorities. He confirmed that at the moment EEBC will continue to align investments to broader regional priorities and maintain a focus on scalable future proof solutions.

Following consideration, the Committee unanimously resolved to:

(1)      Note the progress that has been made on the ICT Strategy