Agenda item

A verbal update will be provided at the meeting.  

That the update be noted.

The Head of Assets & Transportation provided a verbal update on workstreams and explained the objective to review and consider the releasing of leases on third party owned buildings used by the Council, where a break in the lease was approaching.  Although progress had been made, this was dependant on the timing of lease dates as penalties would be incurred if broken earlier.

The workstream on Flintshire Connects had helped to support agile and mobile working.  Following the success of the Flintshire Connects centre in Holywell, the facility in Flint was expected to be operational within the next two months with the centre at Connah’s Quay due for completion in May 2014 and design work taking place at the proposed facility in Buckley Town Hall.  The Council had been successful in encouraging the presence of other public sector organisations at the centres to enable customers to access a number of localised services.  Support was being put in place for managers to help with teams’ transition to agile/mobile working and respond to lone working issues with appropriate technology in place.  Information was available on the Council’s Infonet on supporting the various elements of this transition.

On agile working, a review had indicated the need to maximise conference facilities through improved monitoring and management of the conference booking system.  The Chief Executive spoke of the need to move away from the traditional meeting setup and encourage use of video conference facilities to minimise travel and time.  Provision had been made within the budget to support this facility.  He added that although progress had been made on ICT developments, further improvements would be needed.

On Electronic Document Management, the transition to shared access of centralised multi-functional devices had resulted in a reduction of over 50% of printers and more efficient use of paper supplies.  Storage capacity had benefited from a move from traditional paper filing systems to electronic scanned documents.  The Head of Assets & Transportation reported that work was ongoing to further reduce storage allocation at County Hall and that an increase in archiving and recycling was evidence of a different approach to working.

Councillor Clive Carver felt that more could be done in the approach to paperless systems such as the facility for Members to submit comments on planning applications without the need for a hard signature.  This was queried by the Chairman who had been able to successfully submit comments online.  Whilst the Chief Executive welcomed suggestions from Members, he pointed out that any changes would need agreement by all Members.  The Head of Assets & Transportation agreed to clarify the position on the submission of Members’ comments online and provide a response to the Committee.

In response to a query from Councillor Marion Bateman, the Head of Assets & Transportation agreed to provide the Committee with information on the number of third party buildings currently leased by the Council which could be released over the coming year and the potential savings from this.  He went on to say that buildings were a key part of the workstream and linked to a number of service areas.  The Chief Executive spoke of the benefits which had been made through good strategy and careful investment in remodelling work on the offices at Flint and Alltami.

Following comments from Councillor Robin Guest on releasing leases on third party owned buildings, the Head of Assets & Transportation explained that this was not a blanket approach and that user groups were challenged to establish whether accommodation in other Council buildings could be utilised.  He referred to the geography of the county and said there was a need for a broader understanding on the use of assets.

The Head of Assets & Transportation agreed to speak separately with Councillor Mike Reece regarding a vacant Council owned building within his ward.

RESOLVED:

That the update be noted.