Agenda and draft minutes

To approve the minutes of the last meeting on 27 June 2023.

It was proposed by Councillor Knott and seconded by Councillor Radford that the minutes of the previous meeting be agreed as a correct record and signed by the chair.

Resolved

That the minutes of the previous meeting be agreed as a correct record and signed by the chair.

Councillors are reminded of the need to declare any disclosable pecuniary

interests that relate to business on the agenda.

None

A period of up to 15 minutes will be set aside to deal with questions to the

Committee from members of the public.

Each individual will be restricted to speaking for a total of 3 minutes.

Where a question does not relate to an agenda item details of questions should

be notified to the Proper Officer of the Relevant Council at least two working days

prior to the meeting.

None

To receive questions from Members of the Councils.

Where a question does not relate to an agenda item details of questions should be notified to the Proper Officer of the Relevant Council at least two working days prior to the meeting.

None

To consider the report of the Director of IT and Transformation

The Director of IT and Digital Transformation presented the overview of roles and responsibilities to the Committee. The Committee heard that they would have sight of Strata JEC minutes in order to scrutinise decisions and that they were available on the Teignbridge and Exeter Councils’ websites. The Committee also discussed how Strata JEC and JSC meetings are administered between the three councils.

To consider the report of the Director of Finance

The Strata Finance Director updated the Committee on the organisation’s financial performance.

The Committee heard that:

·       The increased staffing cost resulting from the pay award had been offset by cut in contract spending and increased profit.

·       6500 incidents had been logged in the previous month

·       The average feedback rating for strata support was 4.5 of 5

·       Differing levels of time required for differing scale of incidents

·       The two lowest levels on the scale were combined

·       The next update would include the SLA

·       Strata was created to replace previous Teignbridge IT system

·       Each council has unique goals that are covered by Strata

·       Benchmarking and structure of accounts to determine cost

It was noted that there is not currently a Councillor consideration for the IT Strategy.

To consider the report of the Director of IT and Transformation

The Director of IT and Digital Transformation introduced the plan to the Committee.

The Committee were informed about the following:

·       Thousands of projects had been completed by Strata last year

·       Transformational changes were requested by the Executive

·       Linking of council strategies

·       Positive staff survey results

·       The move towards digital infrastructure and away from copper

·       Loss of Skype system soon, requiring further transformation

The Committee discussed the impact of generative AI which was highlighted in the presentation. It would provide benefits for local residents and work as a tool to aid officers. One example given was calculating the dangers of skidding cars on roads in order to target areas for salting. The Committee also discussed the moral and ethical questions that would arise from the use of AI.