Agenda item

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

2.1     There had been circulated a report by Jen Holland, Director Strategic Commissioning & Partnerships.  This report presented key information with respect to the CGI contract for the first quarter to the end of March 2023 and key updates on performance to date. It provided Elected Members with key information on the governance of the contract, updated information on the transformation programme being delivered with CGI including the recently approved Social Work Pathfinder transformation programme, key performance information with respect to the service delivery of the contract and a note of key issues associated with contract management, including change requests signed in the quarter and Impact Assessment status. This report was designed to be read in conjunction with the appended slide presentation, which provided further detailed information on each of the aforementioned areas. 

2.2     John Wordsworth-Goodram presented information to members.  In relation to Governance, all necessary reporting to Boards and the Governance Group was being undertaken with proper procedure and attendance.  Significant progress was being made on the Transformation priorities and included engagement with Protective Services Department, workshops on next phases of Digital Customer Access, the engagement of wider CGI expertise and an increase in CGI resource to accelerate proposal output.  An update on the Social Work Pathfinder program was provided.  Project teams were in place across the workstreams with full progress updates provided to the Programme Board on a fortnightly basis.  Testing was underway on the first re-designed processes; iPads had been ordered and end user device deployment plan was being agreed.  Work continued on dashboards via the third party supplier intelligent-I.  The Pathfinder programme was now in the testing and training phases and was scheduled to complete on 31 August 2023.  A summary of key projects was provided which detailed their RAG status.  Three projects were categorised green, six were amber (of which three were moving to completion) and two were red though one was to be completed imminently.  Paton Street work was completed with an additional Wi-Fi connectivity survey to be conducted at Paton Street soon to identify and remedy blackout points.  The Office 365 closeout project was at the initiation stage and was hoped to be completed by end of July 2023.  In terms of Service Delivery, a number of latest quarter highlights were reported and included the completion of the curricular software review, updates to the Service Directory, implementation of the Amelia (ChatBot) pilot to improve first time fix and end user experience and a visit to CGI Service Centre, Cardiff.  A number of issues were identified and included five minor KPI missed targets relating to customer satisfaction and Impact Assessment SLA.  There was also a need to increase the overall awareness and visibility of CGI as well as improvement of overarching processes.  Improvements in the Council Chambers AV solution and HQ infrastructure were noted and Service Catalogue improvements had progressed well.  An overview of the 78 business applications managed and supported by CGI was detailed along with application management data which demonstrated a 100% availability rate over the last quarter.  A round up of community benefits highlighted work with local foodbanks, additional sponsorship of sports teams, support of the Inspire Learning Festival 30 May -1 June and opportunities to bring staff into the CGI offices over lunch and promote mental health awareness.  There was further scope to support more grass roots sport, leisure and community clubs and volunteer groups and the process for applying for support was to be shared with Elected Members. Generally there was a focus on returning staff to the office, particularly those new to the organisation and to provide mental health support where necessary.  It was reported that a return to the office afforded convenience and opportunities to have face to face conversations and had a knock on effect in speeding up processes.  There was encouragement to travel to the office by train, carpool or cycling/walking and CGI had partnered with Project Seagrass to contribute to Net Zero initiatives.  It was confirmed that SBC staff were permitted to book workspace at Tweedbank free of charge.  In terms of recruitment, it was reported that the Tweedbank office was now fully operational and 68 employees both lived and worked in the Scottish Borders.  An additional two roles in Project Management and Training had been recruited since the last update.  With regards to recruiting from the local population, CGI had used data from LinkedIn to identify the number of professionals and recent graduates from universities, colleges and local high schools, and the demographic to which advertising was to be directed, with the Tweedbank area actively promoted on Totaljobs.  A summary 12 point action plan was shared with Members which detailed a number of initiatives with partner organisations e.g. Borders College; myjobscotland; Veterans Association, Skills Development Scotland, CodeClan; and STEM outreach across the region’s schools. There were plans to further develop the Service Desk presence at Tweedbank and an enhanced Member Referral Scheme within the Scotland Business Unit was on offer to promote CGI and the Scottish Borders.

DECISION

NOTED:

(a)        the report and the associated slide deck; and,

(b)        the information provided within the report and the associated slide deck that detailed the performance of CGI over the full year 2022.