Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of interest.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meetings held on 7 March 2018 and 10 May 2018 were agreed as a correct record.

It was agreed that all items would be considered in public.

The Democratic Services Officer introduced the report, which outlined the changes to the role of the Council’s policy overview and scrutiny arrangements.

Members were informed about the updated Terms of Reference, two-year work programme, and how reviews were undertaken. The Committee also noted previous reviews that had taken place, and a potential idea for the next review topic.

The Chairman commented that new Committee Members may find it helpful to look over previous Committee minutes or reviews that were undertaken over the last couple of years.

RESOLVED: That the Committee noted the report on the role of Overview Policy Committees.

Louise Bateman, Interim Head of ICT, attended the meeting and introduced a report regarding the ICT operations at the Council.

The Committee heard that the ICT department had undergone a major restructure last year, and the new structure, outlining the five teams within the department, was provided to Members. Ms Bateman also noted that some vacancies still remained, but currently 63 staff members were employed in the department. It was also confirmed that ICT had employed an apprentice for the first time, and there were plans to potentially add another two apprentices.

Councillors were informed that one objective for the next 18 months was to move the Council’s ICT infrastructure to “Cloud” technology, as currently infrastructure is hosted at the Civic Centre, and a power failure or other disaster would lead to the ICT systems being unavailable, not only in the Civic Centre, but also within other Council buildings, such as in libraries and the waste depot.

The Interim Head of ICT also confirmed that approximately 70% of computers at the Council were now laptops, and the decision between laptops and desktops would be decided following analysis of the business use of the staff member in question. The Committee also heard that the Council have contracts for over 140 applications, and that it was planned to reduce this number. Responding to questioning, the Interim Head of IT commented that the hope was that officers could use an existing application for their work that would allow the Council to cancel a contract, and thus make a saving on support and maintenance costs.

Members also heard that other changes in the near future included revising the ICT service desk portal to make it more user-friendly, and introducing a potential new library management and waste service management systems.

Responding to Councillors’ questioning, it was confirmed that staff computers had a four-year cycle, but that many have received extra memory in this period. Members heard that there was a plan to eventually standardise kit, and that this was likely to take place when the next cycle of laptops was introduced.

The Committee asked what would happen with applications that were not compatible with cloud technology, and were informed that the Council was looking at using a hybrid cloud option, before moving to a full cloud solution.

Members were informed that the Council had also recently upgraded its printers, and there were now roughly 80 printers within the organisation. The Interim Head of ICT confirmed that the Council were still looking at ways to reduce its level of printing.

RESOLVED: That the update on ICT operations at the Council was noted.

The Democratic Services Officer introduced the report regarding the Committee’s potential next review topic, highlighting the process and the proposed timeline for completing the review.

The Committee heard that the Chairman had suggested a review could be held on the topic of community safety, tasking teams and the impact of the new policing structures in Hillingdon.

Members expressed their agreement with the proposed review topic, and noted that it was interesting and important for the Borough. The Committee agreed that there was lots to be learned from the potential topic, and agreed to request a scoping report on the topic for consideration at the next meeting.

RESOLVED: That the Committee request a scoping report on the topic of community safety, tasking teams and the impact of the new policing structures in Hillingdon, for the Committee’s next review.

Members asked for confirmation on whether the provider of the cleaning service for the Civic Centre and other properties will use environmentally friendly chemicals.

RESOLVED: That the Cabinet Forward Plan be noted.

RESOLVED: That the work programme for 2018/19 be noted, and that the meeting scheduled to take place on 9 October 2018 be moved to Thursday 11 October 2018.