Agenda item

Cyfle i Aelodau'r Pwyllgor wneud gwaith cyn y cam craffu ar ddrafft o Strategaeth Ddigidol 2022-26.

The Service Director, ICT & Digital Services provided Members with the opportunity to pre-scrutinise the draft Digital Strategy 2022-2026. Members were informed that the feedback provided by the Committee will be taken into account as part of the Council compiling a draft Digital Strategy to be presented to the Cabinet in due course.

Members were advised that the draft Digital Strategy 2022-2026 seeks to build upon the good progress made since 2017 and put in place our vision of being a truly “Digitally Driven Council,” that provides excellent services, which are efficient, effective and designed with the person and modern customer

expectations at their heart and delivered by a digitally empowered workforce.

The Strategy reflects the ever-increasing role and reliance on digital in people’s everyday lives and seeks to harness the transformative impact it has. It also recognises that whilst demand continues to rise for online services, there are some who will continue to need our help to access digital services and those who need to be supported through more traditional channels.

Following the update, Members were provided with the opportunity to ask questions.

Councillor Thomas raised a query in respect of fast fibre broadband noted that a secondary scheme is being run by the Welsh Government in respect of hard to reach areas. Councillor Thomas noted that on the Welsh Government website is a list of engagement officers and that RCT wasn’t one of them. The Service Director advised Members that good progress has been made around the County Borough and that RCT sits well in terms of the Wales ratings. However, the Service Director noted that there is always room for improvement and he advised Members that ICT are currently working with Prosperity colleagues to refresh the baseline and that the service is looking at a number of schemes to gain funds and to work in community partnerships. In terms of the website, the Service Director advised that it has been recognised that RCT needs a contact officer and this will be developed with the Director of Prosperity and Development.

Discussions ensued and Mr Fish queried how the Council is identifying the “digitally excluded” and also queried how the Hwb provision though Welsh Government is effecting the Council’s policy. Mr Fish also observed that his concern that the Hwb is already creaking on some occasions. In terms of the digitally excluded, the Service Director advised Members that a collaborative assessment was undertaken with other Local Authorities and a report was produced, which can be shared with the Committee, and identified the barriers that were in place for the digitally excluded. Members were informed that the report referenced connectivity, skills and confidence as some of the main issues excluding the vulnerable. In respect of the Hwb issues, the Service Director advised that RCT is part of 21 Authorities for internet services that is led by Welsh Government and that recently national issues have been encountered with this programme. However, new infrastructure has been procured by Welsh Government and this should produce a greater resilience. In terms of the RCT strategy and how its effected by the Welsh Government Hwb provision, the Service Director advised that the strategy is aligned to a national approach and it needs to be assessed in terms of the right approach for RCT.

The Chair referenced page 15 of the report and queried whether the systems being used for staff home working are fully secure. The Service Director confirmed that the systems are very secure. The Chair further queried whether a member of staff home working and using the town centre wifi would still be on a secure network. The Service Director advised that public access wifi wouldn’t be as secure as corporate wifi, however, the devices are encrypted and still secure on that basis. Furthermore, the Service Director emphasised that if a member of staff was working in a public area they are advised to position themselves where no one else can see their screens.

Discussions ensued and the Chair referred to page 12 of the report and community officers in town centres. The Chair queried how many are needed and whether they are in close proximity to each other. The Service Director advised the Committee that they are positioned around the County Borough and that work is underway with Welsh Government is re baseline the position in RCT. The Service Director advised that further information on this work can be shared with the Committee. Discussions continued and the Chair questioned whether the Council have looked at putting wifi hubs into community centres. The Service Director advised that of the 19 properties referred to in the report, some of those would be community centres and that there are further plans in place to extend that further. The Service Director advised that this will be shared with the Committee in due course.

Following discussion, Members RESOLVED to:

1.     Agree the draft Digital Strategy 2022-2026;

2.     Agree that the draft Digital Strategy effectively sets out the vision and the objectives to maximise the opportunities of ‘digital’ for our communities, our customers and for the Council; and,

3.     Agree for the Committee’s feedback to be reported to the Council’s Cabinet as part of its consideration of the draft Digital Strategy 2022-2026.