Agenda item

The Director of Resources submitted a report highlighting the Council’s overall performance from financial management to service and HR activities.  The report focused on revenue monitoring and HRA, Best Value Performance Indicators and Human Resources statistics.  It also drew particular attention to IT performance and IT access for Members, following consideration of a motion at an extraordinary meeting of the Council on 8^th January, 2008.

Members gave detailed consideration to the issue of the provision of IT for elected Members and the Head of IT answered a number of questions of detail.  In respect of likely costs, the Director confirmed that the costs previously supplied to Members were on the basis of a worse case scenario, assuming that no Members currently had any broadband connection or IT at home.  However, it was clear that many Members already did and this would substantially reduce costs if they were happy for their home computers to be linked to the Council’s network. 

The Officer report proposed the undertaking of an audit of Members’ current IT availability as a first step in taking the matter forward and this was supported.  However, Members felt that, at the same time, the Cabinet should be recommended to ensure that sufficient funding was available in the 2008/09 budget to meet the costs of providing Member IT, given that the likely cost was now substantially lower than originally reported. It was suggested that the cost be funded from unallocated LABGI monies.

Members referred to the fact that the Council’s procedure rules still prohibited the use of laptops at Council and Committee meetings and it was agreed that a recommendation should be made to the Member Panel on the Constitution to change what was now an outmoded procedure rule.

Members also asked a number of questions of detail about the loss of IT for a week in November, 2007 and were updated on the current position.  Officers were currently working on two possible options with a view to ensuring that, should a future such incident arise, the Council’s IT processes could continue to run from a separate site.

Resolved -  

  (a)That the report be noted.

(b)  That the proposed audit of Members’ IT equipment etc be undertaken as quickly as possible and that the Cabinet be strongly recommended to ensure that sufficient funding is put in place within the 2008/09 budget to ensure that all Members who wish to be are fully IT enabled within the next financial year, funding the costs as necessary from the currently unallocated LABGI monies.

(c)  That the Member Panel on the Constitution be recommended to review the current ban on the use of laptops at Committee meetings.