Agenda item

Consider report by Executive Director Finance and Regulatory.  (Copy attached.)

With reference to paragraph 6 of the Minute of 25 February 2021, there had been circulated copies of a report by the Executive Director Finance and Regulatory proposing the implementation of the first phase of the Council’s strategic enterprise mobility platform to digitally connect and empower the Council’s frontline social care staff engaged in delivering ‘Care at Home’ services across the Borders.  The report explained that Scottish Borders Council’s Digital Strategy had been approved by Elected Members on 25 February 2021. The Digital Strategy identified the need to connect mobile front-line workers and provide improved workforce scheduling as a priority.  The project to be delivered with CGI and Total Mobile would, as a first phase, deliver the technical platform for mobilising and empowering the front line workforce across the Council and enable the transformation of the delivery of home care services.  The Council currently delivered more than 1.51 million home care visits per year. These care visits helped people to maximise their confidence and independence, living in their own homes wherever possible.  These visits were provided by a mix of internal Council and External Care Provision.  360 frontline care workers were directly employed by the Council to undertake approximately 589,000 care visits per year, representing 39% of the total.  These staff were supported by 40 agency staff and 19 FTE back office employees. External 3^rd party providers delivered approximately 921,000 further visits, currently 61% of the overall total yearly care visits. The strategic business drivers for the project along with the benefits envisaged from the new Total Mobile application were explained.  The project would deliver a mix of cashable and non-cashable benefits.  The digital enablers scoped within the project business case appended to the report, should unlock gross cashable savings of £0.44M - £0.62M per annum with further productivity gains in non-cashable benefits estimated by Total Mobile at up to 10-15%.  The change management approach and the benefits realisation plan were explained in the report.  Mr Robertson gave a presentation outlining the project and showing how it could be extended in the future to cover other Council Services.  Members welcomed the report and Mr Robertson reassured Members that discussions had already begun with 3^rd party providers on extending this project to cover all carers to ensure that all clients received the same standard of care.  Councillor A. Anderson (seconded by Councillor Thornton-Nicol) proposed as an amendment to add a further recommendation, requesting a report on the delivery of savings and care benefits be brought back to the Audit & Scrutiny Committee within 9 months, and this was unanimously accepted.

DECISION

AGREED to:-

(a)     approve the change management plan and the benefits realisation plan detailed in the report provided as part of the Business Case for the implementation of phase 1 of the Council’s strategic Enterprise Mobility Programme to digitally connect and empower the Council’s frontline social care workforce delivering Care at Home services to Border’s residents;

(b)     note the Full Business case for the project appended to the report;

(c )    note that further phases of the project would be developed over the next 3 year period following the initial role out to Home Care staff; and

(d)     request that a report on the delivery of savings and care benefits would be brought to the Audit & Scrutiny Committee within 9 months.