Agenda and minutes

The Chairman varied the order of business as shown on the agenda and the Minute reflects the order in which the items were considered at the meeting.

Consider Minute of the Meeting of the Major Contracts Governance Group held on 1 March 2022.  (Copy attached.)

There had been circulated copies of the Minute of the Meeting held on 1 March 2022. 

DECISION

AGREED to approve the Minute for signature by the Chairman.

Consider CGI Briefing. (Copy attached.)

3.1       There had been circulated copies of the report by Director Strategic Commissioning and Partnerships that presented key information with respect to the CGI contract for the first two quarters of 2022.  It provided Elected Members with key information on the governance of the contract, updated information on the transformation programme being delivered with CGI, key performance information with respect to the service delivery of the contract and a note of key issues associated with contract management, which included change requests signed in the quarter. The Director explained that regarding the Transformation Roadmap referred to in the report, 3 key programmes of change were being considered, namely Enterprise Mobility, Process Simplification and Automation, and Enterprise Information.  8 transformation projects had been completed by the end of quarter 4 of 2021.  During quarter 1 and 2 of 2022 7 projects had been completed. One project had been cancelled, which resulted in 14 projects still outstanding. With regards to Key Performance Indicators (KPI), there were 3 red KPI targets over quarter 1, each related to customer satisfaction levels.  The Director highlighted that a P1 incident had occurred following the end of quarter 2, which had subsequently been resolved.  Further information would be brought to the next meeting.

3.2       The Chair welcomed Mr Wordsworth-Goodram from CGI to the meeting.  Mr Wordsworth-Goodram advised that a strong governance portfolio remained in place, with collective joint responsibility shared between CGI and SBC.  The key control boards had taken place and had met regularly to progress key activities.  A number of sessions had taken place on digital sustainability, which had been widely received by SBC employees.  Further work was ongoing to assess how the experience gained from work that CGI was carrying out with other Local Authorities could benefit SBC.  With regards to the transformation programme, work was aligned with SBC’s corporate plan.  The Totalmobile project had been successfully implemented in SBCares, and work was ongoing to identify and accelerate the Social Work Pathfinder paper to come forward with a paper in August to Council. That paper delivered across key priorities including Enterprise Mobility, Process Simplification and Automation and Enterprise Information.  Mr Wordsworth-Goodram highlighted the current position with regards to various projects via the Transformation Project Overview  explaining that a number of projects were with SBC colleagues either seeking approval or clarification.  In response to a question from the Chairman regarding the alignment of the transformation programme to the new Council Plan, Mr Wordsworth-Goodram explained that the plan was for CGI and SBC to collectively deliver.  The Director, Strategic Commissioning and Partnerships explained that the plan was aligned to the new Council Plan, and we would ensure that in terms of presentations future information would reflect progress against the new plan.  In response to a question regarding any areas of concern on the Transformation Project Overview, Mr Wordsworth-Goodram explained that he had no concerns to raise, with work ongoing in partnership with SBC to carry out the appropriate impact assessments and approvals.  An overview of Transformation Projects  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

Consider Report by Chief Officer Roads. (Copy attached.)

4.1       There had been circulated copies of the report by Chief Officer Roads that provided a summary on the performance of SBc Contracts for the financial year 21-22 and went on to indicate how the early months of 22-23 were performing.  The report was considered in public prior to a further second, private paper that considered sensitive commercial trading activity that SBc Contracts undertook.  The Chief Officer Roads gave an overview of the Scheme of Administration of the Major Contracts Governance Group.

4.2       The Chief Officer Roads, Mr Jason Hedley, gave an overview of the report and highlighted that the pressures faced across the economy was also impacting upon the delivery of his team.   Mr Hedley explained that despite this the start of the year had been positive, and that the team remained confident of reaching their targets.  With regard to management matters, Mr Hedley explained that whilst recruitment and retention continued to be a challenge, most appointments made had been internal applicants or promoted posts, and highlighted the recruitment of a graduate quantity surveyor and fully qualified quantity surveyor as a major positive.

4.3       In response to a question regarding the level of investment in new technology and scientific ways of working, Mr Hedley explained that his team constantly sought innovative ways of working across all aspects of working, including using new technology where possible.  In particular, new ways of carrying out road maintenance, fleet innovations and limiting the carbon footprint of works were areas that Mr Hedley’s team were eager and active in trying to implement into working practises.  In response to a question regarding the number of posts that had been backfilled or internally promoted, Mr Hedley undertook to provide detailed figures regarding recruitment and retention of staff, including the number of posts that had been filled internally over the last 12 months.  Regarding the diversity of the work force, Mr Hedley explained that his team was keen to recruit people from a diverse range of backgrounds, and encouraged any person with an interest to contact his team for more information.  Councillor Thornton-Nicol emphasised that Mr Hedley’s team should be congratulated for their recruitment of a female front-line worker.

DECISION

AGREED to note the report.

Before proceeding with the private business, the following motion should be approved:-

“That under Section 50A(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the relevant paragraphs of Part 1 of Schedule 7A to the aforementioned Act.”

DECISION

AGREED under Section 50A(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 to exclude the public from the meeting during consideration of the business detailed in the Appendix to this Minute on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 8 and 9 of Part I of Schedule 7A to the Act.

Consider Report by Chief Officer Roads. (Copy attached.)

Members considered the report by Chief Officer Roads.

Consider Private section of the Minute of the Meeting of the Major Contracts Governance Group held on 1 March 2022.  (Copy attached.) 

Members approved the Private Section of the Minute of the Meeting held on 1 March 2022.

Consider report by Director Strategic Commissioning and Partnerships. (Copy attached.)

Members considered the report by Director Strategic Commissioning and Partnerships.