Issue - meetings

Division/Wards Affected: All

Purpose: To develop proposals to build on existing collaborative arrangements in place for the provision of technology services through the Shared Resource Service.  Expanding these to include digital, data and information governance services will generate economies of scale enabling the authority to access expertise to accelerate progress against delivery of priorities set in the Community and Corporate Plan and the Council’s Digital and Data Strategy.

Author: Matthew Gatehouse, Chief Officer – People, Performance and Partnerships

Peter Davies, Deputy Chief Executive

Contact Details: matthewgatehouse@monmouthshire.gov.uk

peterdavies@monmouthshire.gov.uk

To begin the process of transitioning towards a shared service model for digital and data in collaboration with Torfaen County Borough Council and Blaenau Gwent County Borough, as part of an expanded role for the Shared Resource Service (SRS).

For the authority’s digital team to begin working alongside partner organisations at the earliest opportunity, with a target for the team to transfer to the SRS no later than 1st April 2026, subject to the conclusion of staff and trade union consultation. This would be done in accordance with The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006.

To agree that the current digital service budget be used to enable the delivery of the new shared service.

To prepare an investment case for a modern data service operating across three

authorities, to be considered by the SRS Strategic Board in the first instance, being clear where the initial investment is best focused.

That Cabinet recommend that £77,017 is drawn from the ICT reserve to fund the costs during year one of the collaboration (2025-26). This will include additional funding for the shared digital team and the costs of a new data post to ensure that Monmouthshire can participate fully in, and capitalise from, the embryonic data service from day one.

To revisit the potential to enter collaborative arrangements in relation to information security at a later stage following the completion of further work which will be reported to the SRS Strategic Board in the coming months.