Agenda and minutes

None.

The minutes of the previous meeting held on the 28^th July 2023 were agreed as a true and accurate record.

The Committee queried whether there had been an update on the letter to the University.

·         The Head of People, Policy and Transformation (PPT) confirmed that the letter had been sent by the Strategic Director for Transformation and Corporate.

·         The Committee requested a copy of the letter.

The Committee thanked the Head of PPT for the update on training provision and asked when the single log on would be put into effect.

·         The Head of PPT noted that there had been work carried out to make the NHS training platform more user-friendly and stated that Committee would be given a further update in future.

·         The Digital Services Manager stated that the single log on function was currently undergoing work but that they were unable to provide a timeframe for completion.

Invitees:

Tracy McKim - Head of People, Policy and Transformation (PPT)
Mark Bleazard - Digital Services Manager
Dominic Gibbons - Digital Projects Manager
Tariq Slaoui - Information Manager
Samantha Turnbull – Digital Projects Manager
Councillor Dimitri Batrouni - Cabinet Member for Organisational Transformation

The Head of PPT introduced the report and the Digital Services Manager gave a summary of the report.

Questions:

The Committee complimented the reporting style and version control.

The Committee queried whether a partner with a good experience with UX had been chosen to work on the website redevelopment project. The Committee queried whether the new website’s accessibility and usability had also been considered in the brief and whether this is something that would be checked regularly.

·       The Digital Services Manager noted the partner was chosen via a procurement process that highlighted accessibility, usability and sustainability as a requirement and added that they had been pleasantly surprised with the work of the chosen supplier.

·       The Head of PPT stated that although the current website was not optimal, it was compliant in terms of accessibility. The Head of PPT noted that they had queried planned colours to ensure there are accessibility options and added that they would be happy to share examples of websites that the project aspirated to reach the quality of.

The Committee noted that the website redevelopment would only be optimal if the management and content of the website was kept up to date.

·       The Head of PPT highlighted that they had been working with service areas so that experts in that area would be responsible for their respective website content and its maintenance.

·       The Digital Services Manager added that technology could be a barrier and that the hope was the redevelopment would remove some barriers.

·       The Digital Projects Manager stated that there had been work done regarding integration and that some aspects would be automated as they wished for the service to be streamlined and more efficient.

The Committee queried whether service area experts were the best people to oversee what information should be included in the website content.

·       The Head of PPT informed committee that the Communications team would still be responsible for the website but with specialist assistance from service areas. The Head of PPT also highlighted that they were requesting people to join an online forum on the website development.

The Committee queried whether there would be continuity between the app, the mobile webpage and desktop webpage and how would these link together.

·       The Head of PPT noted that the redevelopment was focused on the website rather than the app but highlighted that there would be a Customer Services review to highlight how residents interact and contacted the Council which would inform future work.

·       The Digital Services Manager assured Committee that the website would be optimised for those accessing it via a mobile device.

·       The Digital Projects Manager confirmed that the optimising the website for mobile devices was included within the brief.

The Committee queried whether data would be collected on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

a)      Actions Arising (Appendix 1)

b)      Forward Work Programme Update (Appendix 2)

a) Actions Arising (Appendix 1)

The Scrutiny Advisor noted that responses had been chased regarding outstanding actions.

b) Forward Work Programme Update (Appendix 2)

The Scrutiny Advisor informed the Committee that 2 items had been added to the Forward Work Programme after the agenda had been published – the People and Culture Plan and the Asset Plan.

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