Issue - meetings

That the proposals be agreed.

The Chief Officer (Governance) introduced a report to inform the Committee of the results of consultation with schools on reconfiguring the Education ICT Service which were approved by Cabinet on 16 June 2015.

                        The Chief Officer provided background information and referred to the key considerations.  He advised that the proposed model worked on the principle that schools should be given as much autonomy as possible and that the County Council should retain control of only those services which were absolutely necessary.  The model  requires several Service Level Agreements to be drawn up by the Council and by schools.  The Chief Officer reported that the proposals were agreed at Cabinet on 16 June 2015 with discretion to amend the proposals to reflect any comments that the Committee might subsequently make.  A commencement date for the new service has not been determined and I n the meantime the service will continue on its current lines. 

In response to a question from Councillor Nigel Steele-Mortimer the Chief Officer advised that the proposed model covered all schools within the County and they would receive the same level of service.

Councillor Carolyn Thomas sought further information around the engagement of a consultant on the reconfiguration of the Service.  The Chief Officer advised that a consultant had been employed on a short term contract initially to review customer needs and make proposals to meet the objectives.  The consultant had been engaged again on a fixed term contract which would come to an end when the new service went live.

RESOLVED:

That the proposals be agreed.