Agenda item

Invitees:

-       Dimitri Batrouni (Cabinet Member for Organisational Transformation

-       Rhys Cornwall (Strategic Director-Corporate and Transformation)

-       Tracey Mckim (Head of People, Policy and Transformation)

-       Matt Lewis (Chief Officer Shared Resource Service)

-       Sarah Stephens (Educational Lead Shared Resource Service)

-       Kath Beavan-Seymour (Assistant Director Shared Resource Service)

-       Dominic Gibbons (Digital Projects Manager)

-       Mike Doverman (User Support Manager Shared Resource Services)

-       Paul Higgs (Assistant Director – Senior Leadership Team – Shared Resource Service)

The Chief Officer of Shared Resource Service and the Head of People, Policy and Transformation gave an overview of the report and a background to the Shared Resource Service.

The following was discussed:

• The Committee raised questions regarding the progress in recruiting additional organisations into the Shared Resource Service (SRS). The Chief Officer for Shared Resource Service explained plans to incorporate groups into the SRS and highlighted the interest of an English authority in partnering with the SRS.
• The Committee inquired about the loss of 27 members of staff in the SRS. The Chief Officer Shared Resource Service explained that the main reason for their departure was lower wages compared to other organisations. Additionally, some staff found the work too complicated.
• The Committee asked about the SRS's approach to dealing with online scams. The Chief Officer highlighted one measure they have taken, which is restricting access to the UK only.
• The Committee asked about the diversity of apprentices and enquired about university links for work experience. The Chief Officer of Shared Resource Service informed the Committee about their collaboration with a scheme in Cardiff and their efforts to reach minority or underrepresented groups.
• The Committee enquired about direct contact for support from the SRS. The Chief Officer Shared Resource Service stated that this information can be provided.
• The Committee questioned the figures on reserves compared to capital funding. The Chief Officer Shared Resource Service explained that these are different figures based on revenue reserves and funding provided by Newport.
• The Committee asked about the number of apprenticeships in Newport. The Chief Officer Shared Resource Service explained that the funding for these apprenticeships comes from the SRS, and they work with all their partners, not solely within Newport.
• The Committee enquired about out of hours call outs and IT support. The Assistant Director Shared Resource Service explained that the service desk covers 9-5 Monday-Friday, and out-of-hours service is staffed to handle critical system issues. The Head of People, Policy, and Transformation emphasised the importance of SRS's ability to provide support that an in-house IT team cannot.
• The Committee questioned how the SRS keeps up with cybersecurity attacks. The Chief Officer for Shared Resource Service mentioned allocating resources and staff to address cybersecurity issues. The Head of People, Policy, and Transformation highlighted that Newport Council has a risk owner supported by the SRS.
• The Committee asked if there were any security attacks or concerns for schools in Newport. The Chief Officer for Shared Resource Service confirmed that there have not been any with schools supported by the SRS.
• The Committee enquired about the user-friendliness of the new Newport website. The Head of People, Policy, and Transformation assured that it will be better than the current website and mentioned financing partners to design it accordingly. The Chief Officer Shared Resource Service noted that Newport is part of a group of councils sharing best practices for website design.
• The Committee expressed interest in reducing the environmental impact of data storage. The Chief Officer of Shared Resource Service explained that cloud-based storage would help achieve this goal. The Digital Projects Manager mentioned Newport's cloud-based policy, which also saves costs on energy.
• The Committee questioned the time it would take to bring the SRS systems back to capacity if they went down. The Chief Officer for Shared Resource Service assured that they have measures in place to limit the impact, including various systems and facilities. They are also looking into disaster management, which would involve housing a copy of all files externally. The User Support Manager Shared Resources added that they run disaster scenarios to test these situations.
• The Cabinet Member for Organizational Transformation thanked the Committee, officers, and partners for their participation. They emphasised the constant effort to protect against cybersecurity issues and the desire to drive skills and talent within Newport. The Cabinet Member for Organizational Transformation highlighted the importance of reducing costs and utilising the skills of the SRS team. They also emphasised the importance of data management and usage.

The Chair thanked the officer for attending.

Conclusions

• The Committee expressed their gratitude to the invitees for attending, and commended the positive report,Members praised the enthusiasm displayed by the officers when discussing the report and the strength of the partnership. Members also commended the financial information provided in the report, appreciating the assurance that funds were reserved for various projects.

• Members requested statistics concerning the diversity of apprentices within the partnership.

• Members were pleased to receive the news that the upcoming council website will prioritise accessibility for users and open-source compatibility for future updates. They also expressed an interest in receiving examples of open-source websites used by other local authorities.

• The Committee would like more information on the Disaster Recovery Plan when developed as part of next year’s report. Members also asked for an Information report in the interim if available.

• The Committee would like to know if there is a direct contact number for Members to contact SRS for issues.

• Members would like to know the viability of recruiting more organisations into the partnership.

• Members would like to know if there has there been any incidents with breakdowns which have resulted in issues with safeguarding in schools.