The Committee is asked to consider the Digital Strategy.

The Deputy Cabinet Member for Finance and Performance, the Head of ICT and the Transformation Programme Manager have been invited to attend for this item.

The Chairman welcomed the Deputy Cabinet Member for Finance and Performance, the Head of ICT and the Transformation Programme Manager to the meeting.

The Deputy Cabinet Member introduced the report which set out the direction the Council was taking with regard to offering a greater range of digital services for residents and businesses and encouraging innovation in this field, as set out in the Corporate Plan.  The Transformation Programme Manager added that it was important not only to provide online services, but how Swale Borough Council (SBC) approached this, and also how on-line use was promoted.  She explained that the aim was to achieve digital use, not by default, but by choice.

A Member welcomed the document and considered it summarised the direction that SBC was taking.  He suggested there should be more detail within the document, e.g. apps that could be used to access Council services.  The Transformation Programme Manager explained that this was a strategic document, but there would also be an action plan to take the Strategy forward.

A Member stated that it was important that the digital services were user-friendly, and he suggested a user-ability study was carried out to test the online services.  He considered this approach would also help with digital education.  The Member also highlighted the need to consider the diverse population and that translated options would also need to be available.

The Deputy Cabinet Member responded by advising that the design of the website was been carried out ‘bottom-up’.  User groups were invited to give input at an early stage.  The search engine on the SBC website would also be improved.

A Member suggested that consideration needed to be taken in areas of deprivation in the Borough, and also where there was a lack, or poor service, of Broadband.

A Member welcomed the report and considered the Strategy was crucial for the sustainability of the Council.  He asked whether there were likely to be any job implications with an increase in digital take-up, and the reduction of telephone contact.

The Transformation Programme Manager explained that it was too early to forecast whether there would be any job losses.  She explained that there was now more scope to carry out a wider range of work from home.  The Deputy Cabinet Member further advised that within the wider Transformation Programme, a range of systems would be integrated in the future, with the aim to reduce bureaucracy.

A Member welcomed the improvements that were being made to the Council website.  He stated that there were areas where Broadband quality was decreasing, as demand increased.  He suggested information about the changes to the website and digital services could be communicated via workshops.  He further suggested that a library of workshops could be filmed and used as a learning resource for Members.

The Head of ICT took the opportunity to remind Members that it was Swale’s Communications Team who must take credit for the delivery and content of the Council website, not ICT.  He further advised that the online training resource (ELMS) used by SBC staff, would shortly be made available to Members as well.

A Member stated that streaming of Council meetings should also be embedded in the Strategy.  The Transformation Programme Manager advised that this could be added to the Action Plan.  She explained that talks would need to be had with the Democratic Services Team to establish what their requirements were to enable this to go forward.  In response to a question, she advised that there was no time-line for this to happen at the moment.  The Chief Financial Officer explained that there were significant cost implications for streaming Council meetings and these would have to be considered by Full Council.

In response to a question on the digital skills of Councillors, referred to on page 8 of the report, the Deputy Cabinet Member advised that this was something that the Member Development Working Group would get involved with.

A Member stressed the importance of ensuring that any user-groups involved in testing new systems, were residents not affiliated with the Council to ensure that the testing was more real.  The Transformation Programme Manager outlined the ways that volunteers were asked to test the system.  These included flyers at the three Council offices, an advert in the ‘Inside Swale’ magazine, and by email, and social media.

There was further discussion on live-streaming of Council meetings, and the following points were raised:  could see the merits of live-streaming; we were lagging behind on this, compared to other Councils; it would be useful to find out the costs and what other Councils had done, to make comparisons; the high cost of storage of data; and virtual meetings could be held.

In response, the Deputy Cabinet Member advised that the cost of technology and storage was coming down.  He welcomed the Skype for Business facility that SBC staff now used and he hoped that all Councillors would use this as well in the future.  He considered live-streaming of Council meetings could be in use at SBC within a couple of years.

Members agreed to the recommendation below.

The Chairman thanked the Deputy Cabinet Member for Finance and Performance, the Head of ICT and the Transformation Programme Manager for attending the meeting for this item, and also took the opportunity to thank all the report writers for their reports for each item on the agenda.

Recommendation for consideration by the Cabinet Member:

(1)      That the Cabinet Member considers looking at the inclusion of live-streaming of Council meetings within the Digital Strategy.