Agenda item

This annual report provides an account of the role of the Portfolio Holder for Community Safety, Highways and Enforcement. It details their ambitions for their areas of responsibility, how they have and will undertake political challenge and leadership and what their priorities and ambitions are for the year ahead.

Discussion:

The following issues were discussed:

Measuring improvements – it was asked how the Council measured improvements to services and value for money when scrutinising the effectiveness of Medway 2.0. The Portfolio Holder explained there was no longer a separate savings target assigned to the programme as it disincentivised individual departments from coming up with savings and efficiencies. He added that savings made were reported as part of departmental savings in the regular revenue monitoring reports and this sat within the wider FIT plan, which was supported by Medway 2.0 to target savings of £11.3m and an increased income target of £17.4m.

Members requested more information on progress of savings and subsequent reduction in posts. The Portfolio Holder stated that it was not a question of savings within a single financial year, rather the purpose was to change how the Council provided services, this would provide savings year on year into the future. One example of this was the vehicle reporting process which would create significant efficiencies, enabling officers to provide an improved service for residents. The initial design process had been completed, and this would be replicated across more than 70 further processes to create efficiencies across the Council.

External partners - further information was requested regarding the Portfolio Holder’s links with external partners in relation to Medway 2.0. The Portfolio Holder stated that Medway 2.0 had good links with technology providers such as Microsoft, in addition Medway Council had been praised by Jadu at the LGA conference and had also received recognition for its use of Magic Notes which created significant efficiencies for Social Workers.

Translation Services – information regarding the cost of translation services was requested, the Portfolio Holder undertook to provide this following the meeting, however he noted that the Council had a legal duty to provide equality of access to services for its residents.

Speed of change – a Member expressed disappointment at the pace of change to services and that some web services were not mobile compatible. The Portfolio Holder stated that in his view services were updated quickly following feedback, in particular from the Member User Testing Group.

The Chief Information Officer added that it was a key priority to ensure that all Council services were available online using mobile compatible devices and this should be completed by the end of the financial year

Digital Infrastructure– further information was requested regarding paragraph 6.6 of the report (page 12 of the agenda refers). The Portfolio Holder explained that it was the aim to bring processes within the Jadu and Microsoft eco-system where possible. This would reduce the number of software, systems and licenses the Council required and consequently reduce costs.

The Chief Information Officer added that the Council was creating an Azure Data Platform with Microsoft to join up Council systems and create efficiencies.

Challenges – A Member asked the Portfolio Holder how he had provided challenge to the service. The Portfolio Holder stated that he facilitated discussion with the Member User Testing Group and changes to apps were made in real time to analyse and streamline processes. He acknowledged there may be ways to better quantify challenge, but he was supportive of the collaborative approach and subsequent progress made.

Governance Framework – further information was requested on the governance framework and risk management regarding use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The Portfolio Holder stated that governance was split across a number of Cabinet Members related to the relevant department which was under review. The aim was not only to make savings but to improve services, for example, Magic Notes which was used by staff in Social Care to reduce administration time had been transformational, showing a 63% reduction in time writing assessments and a 52% reduction in administration time away from contact with clients. This ensured social workers were able to spend more time utilising their professional skills in direct contact with clients and feedback from staff had been positive.

Climate Change -  in response to a question regarding the Climate Change and sustainability implications of use of AI, the Portfolio Holder acknowledged concerns regarding the water intensive nature of AI. However, he noted the digital programme would look at the environmental impact as a whole.

The Chief Information Officer added that the Council’s preferred software provider Microsoft had its own climate change goals to be net zero by 2030 and the Council would benefit from the work Microsoft did in progressing that aim.

Magic Notes – a Member asked whether the Magic Notes pilot had been successful. The Portfolio Holder stated the pilot had been well received and gave social workers more time to concentrate on the client, He added that he hoped it would improve services and trust in adult social care as a whole. Results would be seen through quarterly reporting, however, it enabled staff to use their professional skills rather than spending much of their time on paperwork. It would be for service heads to decide if staff resources could be deployed more effectively in response to those efficiencies, previously savings following transformation schemes had been reported through Medway 2.0 and this had been a disincentive to services to find savings.

CCTV – The Portfolio Holder was asked about the work regarding CCTV. The Portfolio Holder stated that he was pleased with the progress of the work between digital and CCTV and the move of the CCTV team to Gun Wharf had increased opportunities for partnership working and had increased the value of the land at the old Civic Centre Site in Strood.

Licensing - Members commented on the excellent work of the Licensing team. A Member stated that Licensing sometimes struggled to get the level of buy in from external partners that was required to manage licensing effectively. The Portfolio Holder thanked the Member for raising the issue and agreed to review and discuss with external partners to improve input.

It was commented that Licensing remained a paper intensive process, and it was asked whether any of the developments in AI could be of use for the licensing team. The Portfolio Holder stated that Licensing was a shared service with Gravesham Borough Council, so this made technological efficiencies more complex. There were areas where less paper-based systems could be used, but those opportunities would be easier to realise following Local Government Reform.  The Portfolio Holder added that efficiencies did not only relate on new technology, for example the new Hackney Carriage tariff policy provided an opportunity to make better use of officer time.

The Chief Information Officer added that the Medway 2.0 programme prioritised opportunities to reduce costs and whilst there were efficiencies which could be made in Licensing, it was not a priority.

Kingsley House – The Portfolio Holder was asked for comments on issues at Kinglsey House, he acknowledged that there had been some difficulties in residents accessing services at Kinglsey House, and how this was delivered was being reviewed. The Portfolio Holder reiterated that he wanted residents to be able to access Community Hubs and find answers to their queries without being redirected to different departments and buildings and it was important to maintain an open and welcoming space whilst giving residents the privacy they need.

Markets -  a Member asked whether markets were struggling due to issues related to licenses provided by the Council, the Portfolio Holder stated the market had experienced difficulties in relation to unpaid business rates and whilst this did not relate to his portfolio, he was aware the Council had sought an acceptable solution with traders, however, this had not been possible.

Future Challenges – in response to a question from a Member regarding the challenges for the year ahead, the Portfolio Holder stated that Agent X, the Council AI powered search engine would provide a support for all users in any language and give intelligent analysis of Council services. He believed this would mark a step change in service provision for residents.

The Chief Operating Officer added that in meeting with various teams across the Council the most noted concern was the environmental impact of Medway 2.0 and AI being water intensive rather than any particular concern about loss of jobs.

Decision:

The Committee noted the report.