Agenda item

This report presents an interim update on the agreed scrutiny review of E-Democracy, being undertaken by a Task Group from this Committee, and asks the Committee to consider making interim recommendations to the Executive to help their discussions around the implementation of the new Customer Relationship Management system.

Members considered a report which presented an update on the agreed scrutiny review of E-Democracy, being undertaken by a Task Group from this Committee.  The Committee was asked to consider making recommendations to the Executive to help their discussions around the implementation of the new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system.

Councillor Lisle, Chair of the Task Group, went through the key findings and recommendations, as outlined in the report. He explained the context in which the review had taken place in that the CRM system had already been procured but had not yet been rolled out.  Councillor Lisle also explained the reasons why the report was now being presented as a Final Report rather than an Interim Report.

Noting the reference in the report that, once the system had been rolled out there was an expectation that uptake of the “My Account” would be 70%, Members queried whether this figure was realistic.  Officers explained that they believed this figure to be realistic based on data from other authorities that had implemented the system and on the statistics in York in respect of online banking and the percentage of residents who currently paid their Council Tax by direct debit.

Members commented on the specific requirements that Members would have of the CRM system, particularly in respect of the reporting and tracking of problems in their ward. 

Members agreed that once the system had been fully implemented it would be useful to identify any barriers to its usage and consider how these could be overcome. This would only be possible once the statistics on the engagement with “My Account” were available.

The Chair expressed his appreciation of the work carried out by the Task Group Members and the officers who had supported the review.  He stated that, because of the expertise within the Task Group, it would be useful if they were to carry out further work on public engagement/digital inclusion as had been suggested by the Committee.  The remit of this work would be established once data on engagement with “My Account” became available. 

Resolved:  (i)      That the work of the review be noted.

                   (ii)      That the Task Group’s recommendations,

as detailed in paragraph 74 of the report, be agreed.

(iii)     That, at the next meeting, a further paper be presented to the Committee on public engagement with the CRM system.¹

Reasons:   (i)      To inform the Committee of the work that had

                             now been completed.

(ii)      To inform the Executive’s considerations around

the new Customer Relationship Management system and to conclude this phase of the review.

(iii)     To inform the consideration of the remit for the next phase of the Task Group’s work.