Archived decisions
Contact: Jos Creese [email protected] , tel: 01962 847436
1.1. Since the last report in July 2008, IT progress and developments include:
· The County Council has won three national awards for IT for its e-Recruitment partnership programme and its IT Service Management programme;
· The Annual IT Performance Report for the County has been agreed with all departments, endorsed by the Corporate Management Team;
· A new finance model for the funding of IT and in particular reducing the emphasis of the internal trading model for IT Services has been agreed and will be implemented at the start of the new financial year;
· The integration between IT Services and a range of departmental teams has made good progress;
· An external disaster recovery contract for critical IT applications has now been put in place with Adams Continuity. The priority being placed on this had been previously reported to Cabinet, and will help to mitigate risks through the move of the main Computer Centre as part of the Ashburton Court refurbishment;
· The Corporate Services Review of IT has begun.
2. Recommendations:
a. It is recommended that P&R Select Committee note this report.
3. Specific Questions Raised by Members
3.1 Members raised a number of questions at the last meeting:
· The implications of the corporate `HantsFile' document management system and its progress. This has since been reported separately to P&R Select Committee;
· Members have asked about web streaming of committee meetings. This is technically feasible, but to date the County Council has not felt that the level of public interest would justify the investment needed. However, with the development of `Hants digital' (audio visual services on Hantsweb) now well underway, there are opportunities for using multi-media communications to improve public access to information and services for the public;
· At the last meeting Members asked about IT performance reporting. The variety of service management performance reports in place were described and subsequently circulated as requested. They are published on Hantsnet and form part of accredited IT management processes;
· The importance of security of information was raised by Members after some high profile data losses in the public sector. IT Services has attained international British Standards accreditation for security (ISO 270001), and the `thin client' Hantsnet design helps the County Council to protect information and data assets. However, there is always the risk of unintentional negligence and work is underway to remind everyone of the importance of data security. An e-Learning application has been developed for all staff;
· Members' web pages on Hantsnet are being improved to include:
o the addition of new links to internal and external news sources (eg: newspapers and departmental newsletters);
o updating the Key Contacts Directory so that Members can find contacts across the County Council;
o a re-launch is planned for the end of January and this will include a major re-design of layout and structure including a Learn.IT gateway specifically tailored to meet Members' needs;
o working with the Key Communications Group to improve the flow of information through the Portal and continue developing the pages to meet the needs of Members and Officer.
3.2 Members have asked about the challenges of information integration between systems. Although the Council has a relatively small set of core systems based around Microsoft, IBM, Lagan (for the Contact Centre), SAP (for the majority of back office services) and SWIFT (for Social Care), there are a number of data sets locked into applications which need to be shared. Examples include the ability to overlay management information onto maps, and integrating applications in support of Hantsdirect operatives. Unlocking the potential of information by integrating between data sets is a priority in terms of exploiting the investments that the County Council has made in underlying systems and technology infrastructure.
4. Annual IT Performance Report 2008
4.1 The annual IT performance report identifies the major successes and contribution that IT has made across the County Council over the last 12 months. It also provides a `self-assessment' of the priorities for improvement, and these are being picked up through the Corporate Services Review of IT.
4.2 The full report and self-assessment summary are published on Hantsnet and are available to Members. A summary is attached at Appendix A.
5. IT Awards
5.1 Over the last six months the Council has won a number of awards for IT, notably a `hat-trick' at the Annual Real IT Awards in competition with large organisations in the public and private sector. The press release for this is attached at Appendix B.
5.2 In addition, IT Services have achieved international accreditation for Service Management (ISO20000) and international accreditation for Security Management (ISO27001). We believe that the County Council remains the only local authority to hold both accreditations. The benefits of these are in terms of improved service quality and efficient operation, as well as being able to demonstrate best practice in the way systems are managed and information protected.
5.3 The Education IT Team have also recently been successful in gaining SIMs (Schools Information Management systems) accreditation.
6. Looking Ahead
6.1 The major priorities for IT looking ahead are to support key corporate programmes of activity:
· Customer Services and Hantsdirect;
· Hampshire Workstyle and Flexible Working;
· Information Management and HantsFile;
· Partnership Working;
· Schools Programmes;
· Ashburton Court (and the Data Centre move).
6.2 IT makes a significant contribution to each of these programmes which are underpinned by technology. In addition IT continues to support the operational activities of the County Council, changes imposed by statutory obligations, and a range of departmental priorities. The sheer volume of work and challenge of prioritisation is one of the issues being addressed in the Corporate Services Review of IT.
7. Conclusions
Demands for new technology and IT enabled programmes to support improvement and efficiency continue to increase. In addition, there is an important role for IT in supporting public engagement using new technologies and this will be part of the Rural Access Strategy and Digital Inclusion programmes.
Appendix A
IT Services Half-Year Performance Report 2008/09
Following the launch last year of the Transformation Through Technology (TTT) Corporate strategy we have established actions for each of the TTT themes. These Themes are led by senior managers throughout the Council extending the involvement of departments in IT planning and underlining the role of IT in providing the services of the Council. In addition the Annual report on IT Performance has been agreed by BITSG identifying successes and improvement priorities. There have been specific developments in each of these areas since April:
Customer focus:
· Hantsdirect - roll-out of Phase 2, Adult and Children's Services, is mostly completed. Phase 3 has started with School Admissions joining in September
· Web transactions - areas to target increase self-service and on-line transactions have been identified with good progress e.g. School Admissions where on-line applications have doubled this year
· MyHantsweb that brings together information for individuals based on location or interests. It was presented to members earlier this year
Designing Applications around People's work and tasks:
· SAP - development of Managers Self Service, replacing MDT and functional enhancements to Employee Self Service and the deployment of Organisational Management Charting
· SWIFT Quick View - a summary of a client's case information presented to practitioners in a simple graphical format. The pilot has been completed successfully it will be rolled out this Autumn
· Members IT - improvements to the Members' Portal
Efficiency and Shared Services:
· Successful consolidation of IT Helpdesk with EdICT Service Desk to provide a single point of contact for all IT problems
· HPSN Gigabit Ring Upgrade - creating a network across the County to increase resilience, reliability and capacity
· Hardware Maintenance - the tender exercise has resulted in reduced costs and an improved service
Information Management:
· HantsFile - successful introduction and pilot of the corporate document and record management system for the Environment department. The interim Electronic Social Care Record system that combines all client records into one single case file is in place, the full service will be rolled out during November 2008
· IT Services has achieved ISO27001 (Information Security Management) accreditation
Flexible Working:
· There is now a comprehensive set of guidelines for the Property, HR and IT aspects of Flexible Working that provides support for managers and individuals to operate effectively in a flexible working environment
· ABC Refurbishment - Multi-functional devices are in place throughout the building that combine photocopying and printing, replacing a number of local printers and photocopiers. They also provide secure printing of confidential documents
· Secure USB Key - this key offers a secure way to transfer data between an HCC computer and home or outside agency
· Hantsnet Mobile Terminal - a cost effective alternative to a laptop for staff to access their Hantsnet Account at flexible office locations and to support mobile working out of the office and at home
· Mobile Internet Card - supports staff who need to be 'connected anywhere' using their Hantsnet Laptop or a Hantsnet Mobile Terminal. This will enable access to the Internet, OWA, Hantsnet Pages Anywhere and Hantsnet Passport
· Hantsnet Pages Anywhere - this will extend secure access to basic Hantsnet to partners and staff at very little additional cost.
Supporting partnership working:
· Hampshire Public Service Network replacement - tendering is underway to provide telecommunications services to meet the needs of 15 HIOW partners and pursuing an IT partnership agreement that can be used in future for all joint IT projects
· Recruitment Portal - is a single jobs portal and recruitment management system developed and implemented in partnership by 12 of the local authorities across Hampshire
IT Skills and exploitation:
· Learn.IT content has been extended to include HantsFile, new SAP functions/interfaces providing a comprehensive on-line learning coverage for core skills and corporate applications. Learn.IT has attracted over 500,000 page hits from more than 10,000 users
· Developed with HR department this is a range of IT competency assessment tools now available that can be used by managers during recruitment
· Currently extending the e-learning framework for home access by staff
· `10 Things'....useful tips on popular subjects to raise understanding and use of the systems, and solve users' problems
Other key developments:
· Data Centre - plans and a programme have been agreed for the relocation of the Data Centre onto the Podium level of ABC
· Secondary Disaster Recovery service for critical applications has been delivered as agreed with Cabinet
· New Financing Model for IT - will be introduced in the coming year that will reduce emphasis on internal trading and encourage exploitation of IT investments
· IT Management Bulletin - a quarterly update on new services and key issues about IT for managers to improve understanding and awareness
· IT Performance Self-Assessment - a summary of strengths and weakness of IT and the capacity for improvement. Areas targeted for 2008 include:
o more rapid delivery |
o improved project performance |
o driving lower costs and high value |
o greater flexibility |
o driving innovation |
· GreenIT - a comprehensive plan linked to Corporate Sustainability strategy has been introduced to maximise energy efficiency and reduce costs
Value for Money
IT Services measures itself each year against industry recognised benchmarks using the biennial surveys of Socitm (The Society of IT Managers) and Tif (The Corporate IT Forum). The results of 3 surveys are due later in the year, including customer satisfaction.
During 2007/08 benchmarking by the Institute of Public Finance shows that the total cost of IT at the County Council is 1.7% of total costs, compared with a public sector average of 3.8%. It is difficult to know the extent to which this reflects efficiency or under investment, but low support costs of the IT architecture are known to be key.
Appendix B
Hampshire and its partners scoop IT awards
16/12/2008 12:00:00 (Hantsweb Press Release)
Hampshire County Council, working with its public sector partners, scooped three of the top five awards on offer at the recent 'Real IT Awards' in London and was commended for saving taxpayers money in the process.
Real IT Awards
The `Real IT Awards' recognise the very best in IT from across both public and private sector organisations. Hampshire won in three of the five categories and was also a runner up.
Hampshire County Council received two awards for service management in the 'Service Improvement' category, beating competitors from the private sector, and for the top 'Public Sector' project. This recognised the success of a major programme to implement best practice in the way Hampshire manages its IT, achieving international accreditation, significant cost savings and service improvements. The results are more efficient ways of using technology to deliver public services and well over £200,000 pa efficiency savings in increased productivity, at the same time as improving service quality.
Hampshire Recruitment Portal
Hampshire and its public sector partners won the award for 'Partnership' and was runner up `Public Sector' project for the Hampshire Recruitment Portal joint electronic recruitment service designed by Hampshire County Council to create one dedicated site that holds all local government jobs across 12 of the 15 local authorities in Hampshire.
The benefits for jobseekers include only having to fill in application details once, regardless of the job or local authority they are applying to and being able to set up automatic job alerts, book interviews and track applications online. Candidates can also choose to join the Hampshire Talent Bank, which stores their application details centrally and allows individual authorities to match skills against future roles.
This was the second prestigious national IT award for this service on the back of last month's Local Government IT Excellence award.
Judges Comments
In their comments about the awards the judges said:
· "the impressive drive to bring in commercial measures and standards to dramatically improve customer service is obvious"
· " and example to all of us and a case study if ever there was one"
· " excellent tangible and intangible benefits that are being realised"
· " a stand-out piece of work which demonstrated ambition, drive and genuine results. An achievement to be truly proud of"
Leader of Hampshire County Council, Councillor Ken Thornber, said:
"Receiving these awards is a fantastic achievement and shows how we're not only providing an excellent service to the public, but doing so in a cost effective manner. Hampshire County Council is committed to encouraging innovation and best use of technology and credit goes to the wide group of professionals who made these projects a success."
The awards were presented by Declan Curry, television presenter for the BBC.
www.hants.gov.uk/mediacentre For media enquiries please contact: Jon Sharkey, Media Communications Officer Corporate Communications Team Tel: 01962 846028.