Agenda and minutes

Councillor A Woolf was elected as Chairman for the duration of this meeting.

To consider a new strategy which aims to improve residents’ experience of contacting South Holland District Council while also increasing the efficiency of our overall operating arrangements (Report of the Executive Director – Strategy and Governance and the Portfolio Holder for Governance and Customer is enclosed).

It was agreed by the Chairman of the Joint Panel of the Performance Monitoring Panel and Policy Development Panel, that agenda items 4 and 5 would be discussed together, due to the similarities between the reports and their interlinked nature.

Consideration was given to the reports of the Portfolio Holder for Governance and Customer and the Executive Director – Strategy and Governance which sought to receive the Joint Panel’s feedback on two new strategies which aimed to improve residents’ experience of contacting South Holland District Council while also increasing the efficiency of the overall operating arrangements.

Councillor Carter was in attendance as the Portfolio Holder for Governance and Customer, and introduced the two reports. It was agreed that digital strategies should aim to focus digital resources on those who would / were likely to use digital services but that non-digital access routes were maintained too for those who struggled with digital interaction, with saved resources and time dedicated to such customers.

Members asked what input CPBS had, had on the strategies. The Executive Manager for information replied that both of the reports had been to the Council’s ICT and Customer Governance Board for feedback on multiple occasions and that CPBS Managers sat on this board.

Members asked why the reports did not include a business case. They felt that officers should be mindful to ensure the strategy was tailored to South Holland District Council. They also brought up the quotes from personas on page 7 of the appendix to the Customer Access Strategy. They felt that these quotes seemed unnecessary. On that point, the Executive Manager for Information stated that the strategy was in fact aimed at reaching out to a greater proportion of residents and that it was hoped it would allow the Council to be able to fulfil more complex requests, which were hard to carry out due to the limitations with the current system.

Regarding the business case, The Executive Manager for Information stated that the quoted amounts may have seemed to be larger than the quotes provided by CPBS to replace the Customer Relationship Management system because of the size of the regenerative works that the Council wanted to undertake to improve its wider business processes. It was stated that when the report went to its final decision maker, there would be checks and balances put in place to ensure that the Council would not be made out of pocket by the changes.

Members also stated that they felt that with the current age demographic of the district, the change was premature until there was a properly reasoned business case for such a change. They felt that the strategy should not yet be adopted.

Members questioned the quotes and personas on page 7 of the appendix to the report of the Customer Access Strategy, feeling that they were unrealistic. They also wanted to establish where the budget for the strategies was coming from. Members felt that the strategy should go to further scrutiny before it went  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

To consult with the Joint Performance Monitoring Panel and Policy Development Panel on the content of the new draft corporate plan for the period 2019 – 2023.

Consideration was given to the report of the Executive Director of Strategy and Governance which sought to consult with the Joint Performance Monitoring Panel and Policy Development Panel on the content of the new draft corporate plan for the period 2019-2023.

AGREED:

That the content of the draft Corporate Plan be noted.

There were none.

Where a Councillor has a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest the Councillor must declare the interest to the meeting and leave the room without participating in any discussion or making a statement on the item, except where a councillor is permitted to remain as a result of a grant of dispensation.

There were none.