Cabinet:

1.    Approved the release of additional capital funding of £6.3 million in Year 1, as  part  the  2021/22 Budget Medium  Term  Financial  Strategy, to resolve urgent technical needs and begin to prioritise and deliver further enabling projects for the support of ongoing transformational and enabling Digital programmes of work; and 

2.    Approved the direction of travel set out in the Digital Portfolio Business Case, at Appendix A of the report, to allow the development ofan extensive infrastructure renewal programme and the development of the Digital Portfolio for the benefit of stable, secure and enabling technologies to be realised throughout the borough, realising positive step change for corporate functions, as well as residents and businesses in the community.direction of travel as set out in this Digital Portfolio Business Case, to allow the development ofan extensive infrastructure renewal programme and the further development of the Digital Portfolio for the benefit of stable, secure and enabling technologies to be realised throughout the borough of Havering, realising a significant and positive step change for corporate functions, as well as residents and businesses in the community.

Maxine Brown, Digital Portfolio Director, presented the report to Cabinet detailing the delivery of this project.

The Digital Portfolio’s objectives are to:

·       Stabilise and rationalise Havering’s current technology ecosystem

·       Create the various enabling digital and data capabilities (people, skills, technology, data, and processes) for the organisation to deliver its corporate strategy (including recovery) and the MTFS.

·       Promote and experiment with disruptive approaches to working with our residents, businesses, and communities in new ways.

·       Challenge traditional approaches to the delivery of services by using digital tools and ways of working to unlock our organizational capacity to execute much more high value activity

·       Encourage bolder and informed risk management mind-set to realise this change

·       Become much more customer-centric, placing the user at the centre of service design.

·       Improve employee satisfaction and morale by providing the appropriate tools, empowerment and choice to the way work is done.

·       Reduce the overall cost of services and property using technology

·       Reduce the risk of technology failure impacting service delivery.

·       Provide the enabling environment (e.g. connectivity, skills) for economic growth in the digital, technology and data sectors.

·       Expand flexible connectivity options for resident and user alike, increasing access to services by “lighting up” the borough

·       Reduce the risk of data breach or data release by improving core connectivity and security as well as improving the connections to all users, irrespective of connection platform

The programme will be introduced over three phases:

·     Fixing the Plumbing – addressing immediate technological needs and “stabilising the stack”

·     Unleashing Havering - short to medium time projects

·     Pushing the Boundaries – looking at evolution as a digital Borough leading to an even better Borough for the residents we serve.

These phases are all detailed in the full business case and will complete the process of taking the Council forward to the modern, flexible and sustainable organisation.  The Pandemic has transformed the way we work and this is to be built on to take the Borough through this period of exceptional change, being smarter and collaborative and place digital at the centre of everything we do to enable us to be customer obsessed.

It was acknowledged that this will have an impact on the Capital for the Council and that there are competing aspects for this.  The Leader emphasised how important this investment was but reiterated that the administration would continue to invest in roads and parks.

Cabinet thanked Maxine for giving an excellent presentation of the programme, acknowledged the work of Omid Shiraji, and wished him well in his future endeavours.

Cabinet:

1.    Approved the release of additional capital funding of £6.3 million in Year 1, as  part  the  2021/22 Budget Medium  Term  Financial  Strategy, to resolve urgent technical needs and begin to prioritise and deliver further enabling projects for the support of ongoing transformational and enabling Digital programmes of work; and 

2.    Approved the direction of travel set out in the Digital Portfolio Business Case, at Appendix A of the report, to allow the development ofan extensive infrastructure renewal programme and the development of the Digital Portfolio for the benefit of stable, secure and enabling technologies to be realised throughout the borough, realising positive step change for corporate functions, as well as residents and businesses in the community.direction of travel as set out in this Digital Portfolio Business Case, to allow the development ofan extensive infrastructure renewal programme and the further development of the Digital Portfolio for the benefit of stable, secure and enabling technologies to be realised throughout the borough of Havering, realising a significant and positive step change for corporate functions, as well as residents and businesses in the community.