Agenda item

Derbyn cyflwyniad gan y Cyfarwyddwr Gwasanaeth – Digidol a TGCh yn rhoi trosolwg i'r Aelodau o rôl digideiddio wrth gefnogi trawsnewid yn ystod Covid.

The Service Director - Digital & ICT introduced the power point presentation to members on the role of digitalisation in supporting transformation during Covid.

He highlighted the following areas for Members in the presentation:

• Background & Context

The Service Director Digital & ICT described the focus of the service area which has been to respond to the recent unprecedented events, the Pandemic and Storm Dennis flooding through the delivery of digital service to the communities of RCT. Staff within the service have delivered well to ensure the best services as possible during a difficult time.

The Service Director alluded to the Digital Strategy 2017/20 which Members had previously endorsed had set the foundations to enable the rapid response. A willingness to embrace new ways of working and adopt new opportunities has transformed how the council delivers digital for the future.

• Supporting Officers, Schools & Members

The Service Director Digital & ICT stressed that the key focus of the service has been to ensure the ongoing support and to enable service continuity and recovery. Technology was deployed in a short period of time to enable staff to work from home, to make this new solution a more sustainable and resilient one through tools such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, transitioning staff to laptops and equipping them with monitors and other equipment. This included the completion of the new data centre in the Rhondda Fach.

The Service Director advised that the Hwb Schools Transformation has also been supported, refreshing the school’s infrastructure and delivering new platforms, with all being completed by May 2021. Supporting digitally excluded learners has also delivered approximately 5,500 devices.

• Supporting Citizens

Digital has been supporting the local communities to enable residents to access a range of support packages and digital processes such as the establishment of the Community Resilience Centres, providing tablets to the elderly and children’s homes to help maintain contact and supporting service recovery such as the Library click and collect service.

• Regional Collaborative Working

The Service Director acknowledged the alignment within Cwm Taf Morgannwg and in some instances the wider close working relationship with Powys Council which have enabled an effective support to key services such as Track, Trace and Protect and mass testing and vaccination programmes through the deployment of digital infrastructure. The Council’s Contact Centre has remained at the heart of providing guidance and support to residents and remain at the forefront of the vaccination programme and bookings across Cwm Taf Morgannwg.

The Service Director advised that the Service Area has successfully bid for a digital transformation grant from Welsh Government.

• Digital – The Next Steps

The Service Director advised that a new Digital Strategy for 2021 would be brought before the Finance & Performance Committee in due course.

The Service Director invited general questions from the Committee.

A large number of positive comments were made by Members in respect of the support provided to Elected Members by the Council’s ICT & Digital Service, specifically the support in relation to the roll out of virtual meetings. Committee also acknowledged the support packages provided across the Council to schools and officers at the beginning of the pandemic by ICT & Digital Services in quick response to the Covid-19 pandemic and to the ongoing virtual support to elected members.

In response to a query as to whether the opportunity to undertake training on the Zoom platform had been afforded to all Members, the Service Director, Democratic Services & Communications advised that in June and July 2020 all Members were offered training via open door sessions and ‘mock’ meetings, in addition to the smaller sessions and follow up one to one sessions which were tailored specifically to the needs of individual members with the support of the ICT & Digital teams. He advised that further training would be undertaken in the new municipal year when the live webcasting facility is rolled out on an incremental basis to allow for experience to be gained with the live system operations.

Members discussed the compatibility of their current devices with the webcasting functionality and the requirements of Chairs and Vice Chairs when hosting meetings, this was an area to be reviewed in due course to ensure they are fit for purpose and suitable for Members’ needs. The Service Director ICT & Digital Services wished to formally recognise the collaboration between the Council’s ICT & Digital Services and Democratic Services and Human Resources which enabled the packages of training and support to be provided to all Elected Members during the pandemic and the initial roll out of the Zoom platform.

The co-opted Member present asked for clarification regarding the HWB platform which is hosted by Welsh Government, specifically about the local resilience and future long-term plan for Hwb. The Service Director ICT & Digital Services clarified that the Hwb is hosted and managed by Welsh Government which the local authority is able to plug into, but it is for the local authority to ensure the infrastructure is resilient and fit for purpose for local schools and across the local authority. The Service Director agreed that Hwb has been a very successful digital platform for schools throughout the pandemic and advised that he is working in collaboration with the Director of Education and Inclusion Services to develop a digital strategy for education and schools across the county borough which will set out the long term vision. 

A query was raised in respect of the unsatisfactory quality and content of the food parcels distributed to elderly and vulnerable residents, as referred to in the presentation as part of the support packages to residents and businesses. The Director of Legal Services pointed out the differences between the Welsh Government food parcels and the initial problems encountered with their content as they were distributed by a third party and those delivered by the council which have been undertaken in coordination with the service users. He spoke of the shopping that had also been provided for those elderly and vulnerable residents as part of the support packages offered by the council.

The Chair thanked the Service Director ICT & Digital Services for his presentation and acknowledged that there would be future presentations to the scrutiny committee with further progress updates.

It was RESOLVED to note the information within the presentation which outlined the improving, delivering and supporting services over the last 12 months by the ICT & Digital Services.