Agenda item

To consider a report by the Director of Resources and Housing which seeks to provide assurances relating to the adequacy of internal Business Continuity Management (BCM) controls currently in place in the council.

(Report attached) 

The Director of Resources and Housing submitted a report which sought to provide assurances relating to the adequacy of internal Business

Continuity Management (BCM) controls currently in place in the council.

Addressing the report the Chief Officer Strategy & Policy (Resources & Housing) explained that business continuity management (BCM) was a process that helps manage risks to the smooth running of an organisation or delivery of a service, ensuring continuity of critical functions in the event of a disruption, and effective recovery afterwards. Members were informed that those processes had never been tested so much in the past few months with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing implications of Brexit. Council services continued to operate effectively, with significant amounts of work being delivered on-line by staff working from home, and other service delivery taking place with PPE and other Covid-secure measures always in line with relevant guidance and infection control advice.

Commenting on the business continuity plans prior to Covid-19, Members queried if the plans in place had met the needs of the pandemic or whether and to what extent they required change.

In responding Chief Officer Strategy & Policy, said it was good that plans were in place, but it had inevitably been necessary to adapt them, as issues such as covid secure environments and social distancing were new challenges.  It was proposed that a review of Business Continuity Plans, and learning, would be undertaken in 2021.

Members noted that due to recent changes in pension legislation, a large number of the Council’s workforce had left the authority as part of the Early Leavers Initiative, with more due to leave over the next few months.  Members queried if sufficient processes were been introduced so that members of the public and elected Members could be redirected to the appropriate officers taking over the leavers responsibilities.

It was acknowledged by officers that a large number of staff were leaving, including some at short notice. However, it was noted that many lines of communication for Councillors and members of the public remained the same, although a further reminder would be issued about “Insite” being up to date.

It was reported that the Council had developed the Supporting Futures toolkit. This covers Personal development, change, wellbeing and service review support, along with details on our Managing Staff Reductions (MSR) policy and redeployment process. 

Members queried the timescale for the roll out for Microsoft Teams, it was understood this would soon be happening.

Members were informed that it was anticipated that Microsoft Teams would be rolled out in February/ March 2021.

Commenting on the selection of video conferencing platforms, one Member expressed the view that interaction with the public was very important and did these systems meet the needs of the people we serve.

The Chief Officer Strategy & Policy, said a number of video conferencing platforms had been tested; Skype, Public-I, Teams and Zoom and it was judged that Teams was the preferred option for most scenarios, but that Zoom licences were being used for Members.

In terms of the selection process, the Chair said it would be useful to know who’s responsible for making such decisions and what processes had been gone through.

The Chief Officer Strategy & Policy undertook to circulate a note of the governance arrangements for selecting such systems to Committee Members in due course.

On the issue of benchmarking, Members queried if there was any interaction with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) on this issue.

The Chief Officer Strategy & Policy, said there was a lot of engagement with WYCA on matters such as Transport, Economy and Skills and a good deal of liaison in respect of the Covid-19 pandemic and through the Local Resilience Forum which operates at a West Yorkshire level. It was also reported that in terms of risk management there were regular meetings with WYCA on joint matters.

Commenting on the Business Continuity Plans (Currently 82 across the five council directorates), the Chair suggested it would be useful to understand how one such a plan worked in a particular service area.

In responding the Chief Officer Strategy & Policy, said an example of a Business Continuity Plan would be circulated to Committee Members.

The Chair thanked officers for their attendance and contributions.

RESOLVED –

(i)  To accept the assurances contained in Appendix No.1 of the submitted report, that the business continuity arrangements are fit for purpose, up to date, are routinely complied with, have been effectively communicated and are monitored.

(ii)  That the governance arrangements for selecting video conferencing systems would be circulated to Committee Members in due course.

(iii)  That an example of a Business Continuity Plan be circulated to all Members of the Committee.