Issue - meetings

The Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance and Resources to submit a report considering the options available to Leicestershire ICT Partnership (LICTP) partner councils for delivery of their operational ICT service beyond December 2021.

Cabinet:

1)    APPROVED to Delegate Melton Borough Councils ICT function to Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council representing the best option following a full options appraisal;

2)    APPROVED the delivery model of Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council providing an insourced ICT service to operate from January 2022 for a period of 5 years ending on 31st December 2026

3)    APPROVED funding of £52k to cover the Council’s share of the one-off costs to support implementation as identified in Paragraph 9.5 of the report of which £17k be added to the capital programme (£10k 2020/21, £7k 2021/22) to be funded from revenue, the remaining £35k to be revenue;

4)    APPROVED to delegate authority to the Director for Corporate Services to agree the terms of the inter authority delegation agreement with Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council;

5)    APPROVED the Partnership Charter at Appendix 3 of the report.

5)

Dawn Garton, Director for Corporate Services introduced the report, the purpose of which was to update Members on the options available to Leicestershire ICT Partnership (LICTP) partner councils for delivery of their operational ICT service beyond December 2021.

Mrs. Garton outlined the proposed options for delivery (delegate the Council’s ICT function to Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council (HBBC) and approve the delivery model of HBBC providing an insourced ICT service from January 2022 to 31 December 2026) following the most recent review of the service.

Mrs. Garton advised that the options were affordable and deliverable within time scales and would result in more control and better resilience for the partners.  The options also allowed a much greater degree of innovation and focus on the digital strategy and would promote strategic progress.

Mrs. Garton highlighted that the options were subject to one-off costs and confirmed that the estimated ongoing costs were in line with the existing revenue budgets.

Councillor Ronnie de Burle, Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance and Resources advised that high performing and reliable IT was essential to enable the Council to deliver excellent service to its community.  The Council’s performance data had indicated this was an area which needed to be improved.  The proposed options would result in greater control and would create efficiencies and flexibility within service, as well as continued collaborative working with HBBC and Blaby District Council (BDC) and progression of the Council’s digital aspirations.

During discussion the following points were noted:

• ‘Future-proofing’ a fit for purpose ICT service was key to the Council’s ability to provide excellent services and engage effectively with the community.
• Members were pleased that the Council would continue to work in partnership with HBBC and BDC, noting that this would be more financially efficient.

Cabinet:

1)            APPROVED to delegate Melton Borough Councils ICT function to Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council representing the best option following a full options appraisal;

2)            APPROVED the delivery model of Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council providing an insourced ICT service to operate from January 2022 for a period of 5 years ending on 31st December 2026;

3)            APPROVED funding of £52k to cover the Council’s share of the one-off costs to support implementation as identified in Paragraph 9.5 of the report of which £17k be added to the capital programme (£10k 2020/21, £7k 2021/22) to be funded from revenue, the remaining £35k to be revenue;

4)            APPROVED to delegate authority to the Director for Corporate Services to agree the terms of the inter authority delegation agreement with Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council;

5)            APPROVED the Partnership Charter at Appendix 3 of the report.

Reason for the decision

The recommendation to adopt an insourced delivery model is supported by an options appraisal exercise which identified this as the best way forward for member Councils of the current partnership. The rationale for this model is that it is affordable, deliverable within the timescales, is straightforward to understand, will bring back more control to the partners, will enable the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 139