Agenda item

Councillor Mary Martin, the Cabinet Member for Corporate, Customer and Digital Services, was in attendance and presented a detailed report summarising progress and performance in respect of each of the following service areas within his portfolio of responsibility:

·        Member Development

·        Customer Services, including the One Stop Shop

·        Health and Safety

·        Digital by Design

·        IT Strategy and Delivery

·        The Customer Experience

·        Operational Buildings

·        Swindon Traded Services

·        Schools ICT

·        Superfast Broadband

·        Leisure (residential services e.g. Highworth, County Ground etc.)

·        Public Power Solutions Ltd (PPS)

At the request of the Chair, Councillor Martin, in her presentation of the report, commented specifically on those elements within her portfolio which she felt had been most successful, those where a different approach might have produced better results and the lessons that might have been learned as a consequence, and the challenges she expected to be faced by the Council relation to these service areas in the coming year and beyond, particularly in relation to on-going budgetary constraints.

Following her presentation of the report, Councillor Martin responded to members’ specific questions and observations on the following topics:

·        The lifecycle for Windows 7.

·        The investment needed in Wat Tyler for server hosting.

·        The cost of returning a significant part of the Capita ICT service to the Council’s direct control.

·        The website and the ability to easily navigate to appropriate Council website pages.

·        The next phase of the ‘digital by default’ approach to customer services.

·        Concern that some parts of the new website directs users to documents still stored on the old Sharepoint site.

·        The response from urban communities to the launch of superfast broadband.

·        The comparison between the Members Hotline and Customers Hotline, in particular the responses received by customer to issues reported and enquiries logged.

·        Problems encountered by users of particular broadband service providers when connecting to customer services and possible solutions.

·        The migration of Council emails to Office 365 and the associated benefits.

·        The look and feel of the new council website.

·        The ownership of the Highworth Recreation Centre and its continuation as a local asset for the Highworth area.

·        The potential increase in Refuse Derived Fuel usage and the associated savings.

·        The work being undertaken by Network Rail at The Sidings, Swindon

·        Information Asset Management and details about the ownership of data.

·        The total cost of setting up Public Power Solutions.

·        The considerations, including public consultation, in relation to the appointment of UKBN to provide superfast broadband in Swindon.

·        Concern about the mixed reaction received from the residents of Swindon about the superfast broadband solution provided by UKBN and the potential uptake of the service.

·        The evidence that the silent majority support the delivery of the superfast broadband service by UKBN.

Resolved – (1) That Councillor Mary Martin be thanked for attending the meeting to present her performance report and for her full and open responses to members’ questions and observations on the issues raised.

(2) That information requested by members during the course of the Committee’s consideration of this item be forwarded to members via the Committee Clerk.