Information and Communications Technology Strategy

Introduction
Background
Strategic Drivers for IT Development
Best Value in Service Delivery
Systems Map
IT Division Workplan

Introduction

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) encompasses the development, delivery and support of voice and data services to Council members and staff and, ultimately, to the Hastings community.

The vision of modern government, as outlined within initiatives for Best Value and Modernising Local Government, relies upon the expansion of ICT to achieve the goals of' open', '24 hour' and 'joined-up' government. Targets have been set by central government to ensure the transition to totally electronic provision of services within the next seven years. In order to reach such ambitious targets, we must step back from our daily responsibilities for service delivery and plan our IT evolution.

The purpose of this document is to propose the gradual reshaping of ICT in Hastings over the next three years.

Background

Infrastructure

The basis for any strategic innovation must be a stable and powerful ICT infrastructure. We have made significant progress in establishing this infrastructure by

Introduction of a managed voice network (BT Featurenet)
Establishment of a wide area network for data transmission between Council buildings using high bandwidth laser links, augmented this year by fibre optic cabling to Century House
Introduction of modern high bandwidth, low maintenance network cabling within all major Council offices
A programme of upgrading departmental servers and desktop computers
Introduction of the Novell 5 operating system and system management tools
Replacement of mainframe computing services with more flexible and powerful UNIX servers for finance systems

Building upon this infrastructure, we have undertaken a programme of ensuring that all staff are equipped with the IT tools they need to perform their jobs and to communicate and cooperate within the overall government environment. These tools include

Email and Internet facilities
Introduction of the Microsoft Office desktop software suite
Availability of equipment for computer-based presentations

Financial Provision

All major proposed IT expenditure is subject to review and agreement by Directors and ultimately by Councillors as part of the preparation of the IT Reserve proposal within the annual budget round. The exception to this process is expenditure on pcs, printers and other desktop IT hardware required for general office use.

The IT Reserve is funded by the Council to provide a central source of funds for managed IT expenditure. The annual contribution to the fund is generally £150,000, augmented in the past two years by £205,000 annually, which represented the savings generated by the outsourced mainframe contract. This additional sum funded the replacement of all finance systems.

Actual expenditure in the financial year 1998-1999 was £426,000, of which approximately £200,000 was or will be paid for finance systems. Expected expenditure in 1999-2000 is £273,000.

The IT Division is staffed by 14 FTEs and 2 people on 1 year contracts. The annual budget is £700,000, of which £140,000 is allocated to outsourced contracts for pc maintenance and the running of the Council's mainframe computer. With the discontinuance of the mainframe contract this year, £110,000 of that annual expense will disappear.

Average IT expenditure across local authorities is estimated by SOCITM at 2% of gross revenue. Based upon an approximate gross revenue of £60 million, Hastings' IT spend is therefore in the area of 1.6% - 1.8% or a bit under the average for a local authority.

Service Provision

While this document will deal mainly with plans for systems development and expansion, the IT Division has an underlying service responsibility for the running of the IT network and the operation of desktop equipment and business software. In any year, approximately 75% of our resources are devoted to network support and maintenance of existing systems.

Our service responsibility has been defined within our first Service Level Agreement, signed in 1999 with W.S. Atkins, providers of the Local Taxation Service. It is our intention, in line with the implementation of Best Value, to extend the operation of Service Level Agreements to other areas of the Council.

Strategic Drivers for IT Development

Modernising Local Government

The local authority must continually modernise the way it works to provide the optimum level of service to the community. ICT continues to offer ways to allow members and staff to communicate effectively across scattered sites as well as introducing fast, efficient and comprehensive access to information in order to work effectively. Our plans include:

Providing electronic support for members including modern equipment, desktop software, connection to the Council network and links to County and central government facilities, via electronic mail, the internet and other private networks
Streamlining Council processes and internal communications by general use of electronic mail
Reducing interdepartmental barriers by shared access to data and systems over the intranet
Introduction of document image processing, electronic archives and enhanced mapping facilities
Exploring shared network facilities with other local and national government bodies including possible participation in County or central government private data networks

Regeneration

One aspect of attracting employers to the area is the provision of links to suppliers and customers elsewhere. ICT will endeavour to support the aims of economic regeneration in the area of electronic infrastructure provision, initially for data communication and eventually offering alternatives for voice traffic as well. While others concentrate on the physical aspects of road and rail infrastructure, we will pursue the provision of an enhanced electronic infrastructure. This will entail

attracting other communications providers into the area to compete with BT
exploring the options for UK or European funding of a partnership effort to lay fibre optic cable within the town
encouraging BT to consider Hastings in its early plans for communications improvements such as ADSL for enhanced speed and efficiency of internet access.

This is an area where partnerships will be critical, such as joint working with Rother District, 1066 Enterprise and other bodies with similar aims.

We will also explore the options for using our IT facilities and our expertise to support local groups wishing to provide IT skills training or business start-up assistance.

Community Participation

In an effort to turn the Council's ICT provision outward to encompass the community, we will concentrate on expanding services offered at the Information Centre (and eventually at other sites in the District), over the telephone and via the internet. This will allow the resident to choose the method of access with which he or she is most at ease.

For visitors to the Hastings Information Centre or other Council sites with public access -

Video conferencing links to officers in non-Town Centre locations
Information kiosks for local events and services
Displays of county and other government services
Access to selected Council systems - planning, environmental health,
Committee minutes - or to information from those systems on the
Council's intranet.
Display of maps, photographs and other items of historical or current interest

For telephone callers -

Telephone liinks to county and other districts
Online assistance to operators to ensure efficient call routing
Voice mail or queing systems
Investigation of the possibilities for voice access to systems such as Revenues or benefits or databases of employment opportunities

For PC users -

Interactive internet services such as events ticket booking and opinion polling
Access to Council systems or intranet facilities from home

Community Safety

Transport for Local People

Best Value in Service Delivery

Review of IT Service

The Council and the community must be satisfied that they are receiving the best ICT services possible for the money spent. We will review our services under the auspices of the Best Value programme with a fundamental service review when scheduled and a continuous improvement programme from April 2000.

We will actively consider

Alternative Means of Delivery - The Council's ICT services are provided by a mix of internal and external suppliers. To date the alternatives have involved either outsourcing to a commercial supplier or retaining a service in-house. We will continue to review services adding an extra dimension of partnership with other government providers, such as Rother District Council and East Sussex County Council.
We will expand performance measurement to all aspects of the ICT service. The service level agreement with WS Atkins will serve as an initial model for performance review. We will adopt the key performance indicators suggested by SOCITM, subject to agreement by our customers.
We will undertake a more structured form of consultation with our customers to ensure that the service we provide meets their needs.
We will actively pursue comparisons of our service with other similar authorities, in the first instance by participating in the revival of the East Sussex IT Managers Group.
Recognising the importance of our staff, we will adopt and maintain a performance evaluation system and staff training and development plans.

IT Participation in Best Value Reviews of Council Services

There will be an IT element in every Best Value fundamental service review undertaken by the Council over the period 2000-2005. In order to support the reviews, we will

Supply baseline information on our costs and service levels and monitor to ensure that we do not adversely affect the viability of services under review
Participate in the service reviews and assist the reviewers by proposing IT alternatives

Systems Map

IT Division Workplan

The IT Division Workplan selects specific development areas within the Strategic Drivers to implement over the course of this and the next two years, recognising the limitations of staffing and funding and the need to continue normal maintenance work and periodic refinements to existing hardware and software. For 1999-2000, the work is outlined in more detail in the Service Delivery Plan and in individual project plans for specific project areas, such as Year 2000 and Finance. It is to be expected that the work areas planned for 2000-2001 and 2001-2002 will be subject to change and refinement over time.

This page last updated: 28/03/2003

Council and Democracy

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