Agenda item

This paper provides an update to the Committee on the Medway 2.0 transformation programme roadmap and invites the Committee to forward its comments to Cabinet.

Discussion:

The Chief Information Officer introduced the report, he explained that Medway 2.0 represented a new way of approaching transformation for the Council where Medway 2.0 would be focused on a review of services and processes. From the results the Council would identify potential savings and design and implement new ways of working and new technologies. The process was focused on ensuring a consistent and positive experience for residents rather than new technology or a particular savings target.

Appendix 1 to the report showed the initial processes and services which would be reviewed. The review would find common processes and service patterns which would enable development of a common external process for reporting. As a result, the experience and design of the new processes would be established on the basis of the needs of the resident.

The Chief Information Officer also explained that Medway 2.0 would work alongside change projects already underway such as the Adult Social Care Programme, work with Revenues and benefits, and establishing a corporate data platform.

The following issues were discussed:

Pace of delivery – Members welcomed the report and the approach of Medway 2.0 but some expressed concern at the speed of progress. The Chief Information Officer explained that the review was led by residents and services so that the process worked for users. Residents viewed the Council as a whole so the experience they received needed to be consistent and this process would take time. As new systems were built and implemented, the Council would save resources in future reviews as common design methods could be implemented for other processes.

Review principles – A Member stated he wanted to see core principles outlined within the review, for example, residents should receive a refence number when they made a request which they could then follow through the system and residents should only be required to input data once rather than having to repeatedly put in the same information. The Chief Information Officer said this would be considered for inclusion.

Member User Testing Group – Members welcomed the introduction of the Member User Testing Group.

Current year savings – it was commented that £2m had been identified in savings for the current financial year from the programme and it was asked whether this was achievable in the required timescale, The Chief Finance Officer noted the £2m in savings in the current financial year was a relatively small amount in the context of the Council’s total expected spend, and given the level of senior management engagement and oversight, it was in her view achievable.

Discovery Process – further information was requested how long the discovery process would take, the Chief Information Officer explained that the review was designed to be agile to meet residents and services’ needs, investment had been made in additional business analysts to undertake the necessary work, however it was a crucial part of the process.

Targets – a Member expressed the view that deadlines and targets for completion of work were required so Members and officers could be held to account. The Chief Information Officer acknowledged the current saving target and stressed that work had already begun with some potential solutions already under consideration.

Data sharing – in response to a question about effective data sharing to reduce duplication the Chief Information Officer informed the committee there was a separate data sharing project in place and this would make significant difference. He added the Council had recently held meetings with Microsoft regarding cloud storge and a business case was being prepared for this.

Digitisation – a Member expressed the view that digitisation programmes in other authorities had not been as successful as hoped and asked whether the Council had consulted with other local authorities about their experience. The Chief Information Officer agreed other authorities had found this difficult and discussions with Microsoft who had oversight of the sector confirmed this. One difficulty had been the use of a single website to manage a number of very different systems. One option would be to have a website for services, and then, a more commercially focused website, for this.

Opportunities for the Council – in response to a question whether there would be opportunities for the learning from this work to be commercialised for other councils, the Chief Information Officer replied that it was an aim of the project to commercialise solutions for the public and private sector.

Residents’ working groups – it was asked if residents’ working groups would include people all ages and abilities in relation to use of technology. The Chief Information Officer agreed that this was vital to provide a service which worked for Medway residents and all abilities would be included as would citizen panels.

Silo working – a Member commented that it was important for the Council to provide a consistent experience for residents and move away from silo working so that residents would be confident they could report something once and the issue would be dealt with. The Chief Information Officer agreed, and data handling effectively was central to this, so that data could be reported once then shared within the Council to ensure the correct actions took place.

Non digital services – in response to a question whether non digital solutions would still be available for residents who needed them, the Chief Information Officer agreed that telephone and in person support was key for residents who wanted it and this would remain in place.

Decision:

1.       The Committee noted the rationale, the approach, timeline, and the resource needed to undertake the work outlined in the roadmap including the formation of a crossparty “Member User Testing Group” to allow Councillors to experience and beta-test new services that have been developed.

2.       The Committee submitted comments to Cabinet on the external and internal services and processes prioritised for discovery at Appendix 1 as discussed, at the meeting.