Agenda item

That Officers be instructed (subject to Capital Strategy Board approval) to commence the recruitment of the Programme Team and the Design Phase of the Digital and Customer Transformation Programme at an estimated cost of £625k. This was an invest-to-save bid for pump-prime funding to support delivering the outcomes of the 5-year plan and Revenue savings in the range of 18% to 35%.

The Commissioner for Digital Transformation and Customer Care introduced a report that updated the Cabinet on the ‘define’ phase of the digital transformation programme and sought approval for resources for the design phase.

The programme had a wide range of potential benefits to residents and services users, for example by improving the Council’s digital offer to be fully mobile and accessible; to businesses, by making it easier to manage business rates or regulatory services; and to the Council by driving revenue savings and understanding customers better to improve the design of services.  Commissioners recognised that the design phase was crucial in achieving these benefits and it therefore considered the request for £625k of invest-to-save funding to support this activity.  The Cabinet supported the vision of making the Council a leading digital organisation and wanted the programme to move forward quickly to begin to achieve the benefits as quickly as possible, particularly given the need for the redesign of some services and the rapid changes in technology and its use.  It was expected that after six months a business case would be ready and the anticipated level of revenue savings was between 18% and 35%.

The Cabinet approved the resources required to progress with the design phase of the scheme.

Resolved –  That Officers be instructed (subject to Capital Strategy Board approval) to commence the recruitment of the Programme Team and the Design Phase of the Digital and Customer Transformation Programme at an estimated cost of £625k. This was an invest-to-save bid for pump-prime funding to support delivering the outcomes of the 5-year plan and Revenue savings in the range of 18% to 35%.