Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

None.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting dated 11 January 2024 be agreed as an accurate record.

It was confirmed that all items of business were in Part I and would be considered in public.

Matthew Wallbridge, Chief Digital and Information Officer, presented the item. Key points highlighted included:

·       By 2026 officers aimed to invest in digital, data, technology and transformation to become a digitally enabled, modern, well-run Council. Residents would be able to access the services they needed quickly and at their own convenience and processes would be more efficient and effective. Once successfully delivered, the changes would facilitate an improved resident in accessing services and information. Residents would be able to carry out simple transactions quickly and easily, with a more joined up approach ensuring they only needed to make contact once. Staff would be happier, more efficient, and equipped with the most appropriate technology they needed to do their jobs. Some of their manual duties would be removed enabling them to focus on higher-value tasks. Officers would have a better understanding of local residents, through the smarter use of joined-up data thereby enabling the Council to continuously improve its services and make better decisions to the benefit of residents. A more sustainable financial model would be in place to improve service delivery while maintaining or reducing costs;

·       The focus would be on meeting the needs of residents, particularly those who were most vulnerable. Research and data would inform decision making regarding the products and services residents needed. The aim was to make the Council’s services easily accessible to all and improve digital inclusion. At present residents were unable to track the progress of their service requests hence this was an area for improvement. Officers would invest in reducing bureaucracy and paperwork to facilitate quick, data-driven decision making. New business models would be driven by data and cross-functional project teams across the Council would work in a more collaborative and innovative way;

·       There had been considerable progress over the last year, but it was acknowledged that there was still plenty to do. It was noted that Hillingdon Council had been the first to deploy an automated voice and web chat solution at scale. It had also been successful in delivering a modern and flexible infrastructure and a programme of connectivity improvements, largely with BT, increasing bandwidth across all sites and across the Borough; this constituted the biggest improvement of any London borough over the last four years;

·       In terms of the future, it was recognised that AI was changing society dramatically and it was essential that Hillingdon Council embraced this change. There were 5 current plans in place which related to Customer Experience, Automations and Integrations, Business Intelligence, Consolidating and Improving Systems and Enabling;

·       With regard to the Customer Experience, an end-to-end customer journey would ensure residents were updated on their enquiries and transactions.  The Council’s website would be revamped, and the current 116 telephone numbers reduced to one. A digital inclusion programme would ensure residents had the skills, connectivity and technology they needed and contact with digitally excluded and vulnerable residents would be prioritised;

·       In terms of Automations and Integrations, a single front door would be introduced for high cost / high  ...  view the full minutes text for item 61.

RESOLVED: That the Forward Plan be noted.

At the request of Members, it was agreed that an item regarding cyber security, data governance and risk management would be added to the Select Committee’s Work Programme.

RESOLVED:

1.    That an item regarding cyber security, data governance and risk management be added to the Select Committee’s Work Programme; and

2.    That the Work Programme be noted.