Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor CE H Marfleet.

There were no declarations of interest at this point in the meeting.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 29 February 2024 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman. 

There were no announcements made

There were no call-ins to consider.

There were no Councillor Calls for Action to consider.

(To receive a report by Lee Sirdifield, Assistant Director – Corporate, which invites the committee to consider a report on the Devolution Deal, prior to a decision by the Leader of the Council on 13 March 2024. The views of the Board will be reported to the Leader of the Council as part of his consideration of the report)

Consideration was given to a report by the Assistant Director – Corporate which invited the Board to consider and support a report on the outcomes of the public consultation on devolution proposals for Greater Lincolnshire; the response of the constituent councils to the themes from the public consultation and the updated Equality Impact Assessment; the amendments made to the Proposal to consider the consultation findings; and the next steps, timelines and delegations set out within the report which would support devolution for Greater Lincolnshire.  The report was due to be considered by the Council on 13 March 2024, prior to a decision being made by the Leader of the Council.  The view of the Board would be reported to the Leader as part of his consideration of the report.

The Board supported the proposals within the report to the Leader of the Council, as set out in Appendix 1, and during the discussion, the following points were recorded for consideration:

·       The Board supported a view that a key element of the devolution proposal, in line with stated Government policy, was that without a directly-elected mayor, none of the £750 million funding would be available for Greater Lincolnshire.  This condition has been and remained a non-negotiable element of the deal between Greater Lincolnshire and the Government.  This funding would lead to economic, environmental and transport benefits as outlined in the report.  There was dissent from some members of the Board, who did not support a directly-elected mayor, and argued that there was not sufficient support for the establishment of this role.        

·       It was highlighted that delaying a devolution arrangement could lead to a future Government making decisions on the devolution arrangements in Greater Lincolnshire without reference to the local authorities concerned.  This in turn could lead to outcomes such as the separation of the ancient county of Lincolnshire into different combined authority areas and the dilution of Greater Lincolnshire into other areas. 

·       Queries were raised regarding the representation of district councils, as non-constituent members of the Greater Lincolnshire County Combined Authority (GLCCA).  The Board was advised that this would essentially be a matter for determination by the district councils themselves through the establishment of a joint committee, comprising representatives from the district councils only.  The Board was sympathetic to a view that the district councils not represented on the CCA should have representation in the CCA’s overview and scrutiny committee arrangements, with these details to be determined at a later date.  it was suggested that ideally, the joint committee would seek to have arrangements, whereby their representation on the Greater Lincolnshire CCA and its committees was rotated.

·       Members commented that the consultation had been very thorough and provided a strong indicative result of the views of the people of Lincolnshire supporting the proposals for jobs and business growth; education and training; roads buses and transport; and environment.  However, some members of the Board disagreed with this view, and indicated preference for a referendum, given the significance of the change to the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 112.

(To receive a report from David Matthewman, Chief Information Officer, which invites the Board to consider the proposals for the future IT service delivery model, prior to consideration by the Executive on 3 April 2024. The views of the Board will be passed on to the Executive as part of its consideration of this report)

Consideration was given to a report by the Chief Information Officer, which invited the Board to consider and support a report on the Future IT Service Delivery Model.  The Board was invited to consider and comment on the report prior to consideration by the Executive on 3 April 2024.

The Board was advised that the current IT contract was due to expire in March 2026.  Previously, the Executive had approved an overall IT Service Delivery Model and sourcing approach at its meeting on 4 May 2022.  However, procurement activity was subsequently paused to give the Council time to assess options to rectify a number of risks and issues identified in the second half of 2022.  As a result of this assessment, changes have been made to the design of the original IT Service Delivery Model in order to address the risks and issues that had been identified.

During discussion, the following points were noted:

·       It was confirmed that the proposal was for a long term model, potentially with a contract time frame of five years, plus three extensions of up to two years, to a maximum of 11 years.  The importance of selecting partners who could work with the Council for a long term such as this was highlighted. 

·       The proposed model would give the Council access to more providers than a procurement for a single-source provider.

·       The Board was advised of the importance of ‘right-sizing’ the relationships so that the contract ‘means something’ for the provider; and of accessing organisations who would be able to innovate and respond to change to meet the Council's needs, and also to advise the Council on improvements, in turn improving frontline services.

·       Concerns were raised regarding whether there was a ‘plan B’ in the event of a failure of IT suppliers.  The Board was advised that managing the risk of a need for a plan ‘B’ would be achieved by continuing to undertake market engagement work, in order to get a range of responses from a broad range of suppliers; by undertaking appropriate due diligence on any company that the Council planned to work with, including their track record, financial sustainability, and references from existing clients.

·       It was noted that there was a need for the right balance in the services that the Council would include in the procurement, as well as understanding the Council’s services.  The Council would also need to be in a good position to move to another supplier, if that were to become necessary.

·       The Council had invested in combating state-sponsored and criminal threats to the Council’s IT systems, which were always evolving.  The Board was advised that the Council had recruited a head of cybersecurity for the first time. This would allow more focus on this activity, with state-of-the-art tools to identify and tackle issues. 

·       The Council had also invested in the updating of legacy systems, so their level of protection against threats had been improved.

RESOLVED

1.    That the recommendations to the Executive, as set out in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 113.

(To receive a report from Donna Fryer, Head of Portfolio and Resources, which provides an update on the IMT Services project portfolio)

Consideration was given to a report by the Chief Information Officer, which provided the Board with a high-level view of the progress of highlighted projects being commissioned through IT.

It was reported that there were two projects currently with a Red/Amber status which were the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) and the Lincs to the Past Redevelopment Stage 2: Platform Migration.  In terms of the JSNA, this project had gone live, and the final support documentation was awaited in order to complete the handover.  Lincs to the Past was in the final stages of remediation, and it was expected that this would be complete in the coming week.

During discussion of the report, the following was noted:

·       In relation to the analogue phone line switch off, it was queried whether there was a risk of losing functionality due to factors beyond the control of the Council.  Officers advised that this would be switched off at the end of 2025, and all telephony would move to internet based provision across the UK.  It was noted that the majority of services were hosted in the UK, and through more than one data centre and so services should not be affected by geopolitical situations.

·       It was noted that there were about 300 analogue lines left to move within the Council.  This was also going through an audit process.

RESOLVED

That the comments made in relation to the progress of highlighted projects currently being commissioned through IT be noted.

(To receive a report from Clare Rowley, Head of Transformation and Andrew McLean, Assistant Director – Corporate Transformation, Programmes and Performance, which provides an update on the Transformation Programme)

Consideration was given to a report which provided the Board with an update on the Transformation Programme and a focused update on the Corporate Support Services Implementation Programme.

It was noted that there was governance in place as part of the Transformation Programme, which included active project boards for each project which met monthly, a steering group which met eight times per year as well as quarterly reporting into Corporate Leadership Team and regular reporting to the Executive Councillors and written reports to OSMB.

The Assistant Director – Commercial provided a focussed update in relation to the Corporate Support Services Implementation programme and advised the Board on the changes which had taken place since the Executive decision taken on 7 June 2022.  The Board was also updated on progress against the plan and risk status; accommodation; insourcing from Serco to the Council; Customer Service Centre; programme activity, both completed and progressing on plan; and benefits and next steps of the programme implementation.

It was noted that the Council had been unable to agree a contract with Hoople with regards to HR, Admin and Payroll, and the decision had been taken to insource this service.  The Board was reassured that the programme was on track and there were no significant risks to highlight.  The majority of tasks had been completed.  There had been initial concerns regarding staff retention and recruitment, but this was being managed.  It was also noted there were approximately 317 Serco staff now located on the Council site, which was saving around £600,000 in accommodation costs.  It was expected that the programme would come to an end in April 2024.

Reassurance was sought in relation to the Educational Travel programme, and officers advised that additional resources had been provided and a new Interim Head of Transport had been appointed.  Meetings were taking place on a regular basis.

RESOLVED

That the report, as presented, be noted.

(To receive a report from Stuart Wright, Contract Manager – Corporate Property on the performance of the Property Services Contract with VINCI Facilities at the end of the seventh year of the contract with an interim report for year eight)

Consideration was given to a report which updated the Board on the performance of the Property Services Contract with VINCI Facilities at the end of the eighth year of the contract, with an interim report for year nine.  It was reported that rising costs across the property and construction industry had continued to be a challenge to the Corporate Property department and wider One Team.  There had been particular cost pressures to property running costs with energy costs seeing a sharp increase, with gas costs increasing by 175% in April 2023 and electricity increasing by 20% in October 2023.  However, the latest ESPO energy briefing was forecasting a 10-15% decrease in gas prices from April 2024 and a 25-30% decrease in electricity prices from October 2024.

One member commented that they had visited a number of the SEND projects and highlighted that the Council should be very pleased with the quality of the build and the facilities provided, and that these buildings were of great benefit to the people of Lincolnshire.  The Executive Councillor for People Management, Legal and Corporate Property echoed these comments and praised the level of workmanship and finish. 

It was noted that the positive interventions report was very good, and it was queried whether the ‘near misses’ could be highlighted as well in order to give a complete overview.  Officers agreed that this could be added to future reports.

Officers confirmed that, in relation to the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), two missed planned maintenance tasks would be classed as a fail.

RESOLVED

That the performance, as presented, be noted.

(To receive a report which sets out the work programmes of the Environment and Economy Scrutiny Committee, Highways and Transport Scrutiny Committee and Flood and Water Management Scrutiny Committee, in accordance with the Board's agreed programme)

Consideration was given to a report by the Chairman of the Environment and Economy Scrutiny Committee, which set out the activity undertaken and planned work programme of the Environment and Economy Scrutiny Committee as set out on pages 360 – 365 of the agenda pack.

Consideration was then given to a report by the Chairman of the Highways and Transport Scrutiny Committee, which set out the activity undertaken and planned work programme of the Highways and Transport Scrutiny Committee as set out on pages 366 – 375 of the agenda pack.

Finally, consideration was given to a report by the Chairman of the Flood and Water Management Scrutiny Committee, which set out the activity undertaken and planned work programme of the Flood and Water Management Scrutiny Committee, as set out on pages 376 – 380 of the agenda pack.  The report also included a request to the Board to waive the provision in the Constitution, which would restrict the number of meetings of the Storms Impact Working Group to three.

RESOLVED

1.    That satisfaction with the work undertaken by the Environment and Economy Committee, the Highways and Transport Scrutiny Committee and the Flood and Water Management Scrutiny Committee be recorded.

2.    That the work programmes of the Environment and Economy Scrutiny Committee, Highways and Transport Scrutiny Committee and Flood and Water Management Scrutiny Committee be endorsed.

3.    That the request for the Board to waive the provision in the Constitution restricting the Storms Impact Working Group, established by the Flood and Water Management Scrutiny Committee, to three meetings, thus enabling the Working Group to meet on more than three occasions, be approved.

(To receive a report which enables the Board to note the content of its work programme for the coming year)

RESOLVED

That the report be noted.