Progress Made in delivering ICT contract
6th April 2011
Highland Councillors have been assured that a £66 million ICT contract with Fujitsu is being robustly monitored to ensure that upgrades of computer and telephony equipment in Council offices and schools are delivered.
Councillor Carolyn Wilson, Chairman of the Resources Committee, said she was satisfied that clear signs of improvement in performance were evident following recent high level meetings with Fujitsu representatives as well as through reports on local delivery.
She assured committee members that the contract was being closely monitored, with each element of the contract scrutinised in great detail.
The Council, she said, is also seeking legal advice on the options open to the Council should Fujitsu fail to deliver a revised plan for the Transformation Programme.
Further legal advice will be reported to the next committee meeting on 8 June. It will provide a wider assessment of Fujitsu's performance against its contractual obligations.
Councillor Wilson said: "Fujitsu are fully aware of the importance we attach to the ICT contract because many of our future plans for improved service delivery and efficiencies are based on information and communication technology.
"They are also fully aware of our responsibilities to the Council Tax payer in ensuring we get what we pay for at the specified time. I have been encouraged by the positive responses we are receiving from the company at the highest level and the urgency being shown at a local level to meet deadlines.
"We will remain vigilant and I hope that Fujitsu will have something positive to report at our next meeting."
The Transformation Programme includes the upgrade of computers in Council offices and schools and implementation of a new telephony system, provision of a secure ICT infrastructure.
Each project requires to be delivered by Fujitsu in accordance with the project definition and plan set out in the contract.
The committee heard that Smithton Primary School, Inverness, was the first school in the Highlands to benefit new ICT equipment. Inverness High School would follow during the Easter holidays.
Bill Fernie chairman of the Education, Culture and Sport Committee said, " I am very pleased to report that Fujitsu had carried out the first pilot at Smithton very satisfactorily and that staff were able to report the installation and training was very good. The works included the installation of replacement desktops, new printers and photocopiers and thereafter related training. The next planned pre pilot installation planned is Inverness High School - planned installations Easter school holidays - replacement desktops and laptops, new printers and photocopiers as agreed with Head Teacher, new telephony and all related training. Next steps are the fully evaluated pilot installations including enabling works and advance communication at Invergordon Academy, Wick High School and Farr Primary School Inverness. The outcomes from the evaluated pilots will inform the remaining rollout project, the first phase of which (for all participating schools) is on track to be completed by end of November 2011. In general terms the Primary School sector is enjoying a level of ICT technical support that they did not have in the past"
Related Businesses
Related Articles
At the Highland Council Economy and Infrastructure Committee. (Thursday 2 May 2024) Members had the opportunity to review the work the Council is doing to progress active travel and improve road safety before approving the next steps.
At the meeting of the Economy and Infrastructure Committee members had the opportunity to review the last two years of the Community Regeneration Funding Programme before agreeing changes to how the 2024/25 programme will be delivered. Committee Chair, Cllr Ken Gowans said: "Following a successful two years, it is a good time to review what has gone well and what can be done better so we can continue to build on success, and seamlessly move the focus onto how best to support the delivery of projects." "With 279 live projects and over £6million of committed funds still to be claimed, there is no doubt as to the value and impact of the programme's potential.
The Highland Council's In-House bus service pilot project was launched in January 2023. The success of its first year of operation in delivering savings and creating a valued and reliable service was highlighted at today’s Economy and Infrastructure Committee.
Members of Highland Council's Economy and Infrastructure Committee today (2 May 2024) approved the local authority's draft Ecology Strategy and Action Plan which will now move forward to an 12-week public consultation. The Ecology Strategy sets out an ambitious set of actions to tackle biodiversity loss and address the ecological emergency.
Economy and Infrastructure Committee members today (2 May 2024) agreed to direct £100K from the Council's share of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) to fund a new staff training programme at the Inverness Castle Experience. The funding will enable the project team to provide specialist visitor attraction training to young people identified through partners at Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) and the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI).
The Housing and Property Committee met on Wednesday 1 May 2024 and noted the Housing Service performance report 2023/24 that met the agreed priorities and associated initiatives in the Local Housing Strategy 2023-2028. The report highlighted a number of achievements in 2023/24 in increasing housing supply.
Kate Lackie, Malcolm MacLeod and Allan Gunn have been appointed as Assistant Chief Executives with The Highland Council. Convener of the Council, Cllr Bill Lobban said: "I am delighted to say that Kate Lackie, Malcolm MacLeod and Allan Gunn have been appointed as Assistant Chief Executives with The Highland Council.
As intimated in Highland Council's budget plan, a new senior management structure is to be implemented following approval by Council 14th March. It reconfigures the senior management team into two layers, rather than three and brings Highland Council into line with other benchmarked authorities.
Today, Morrison Construction introduced some of their local apprentices who are working on the UK Governments' Levelling Up Funded refurbishment project at the Northern Meeting Park in Inverness. All these apprentices have been recruited from the Highland area.
The by-election to elect a councillor to represent Ward 19 - Inverness South on The Highland Council has been won by Duncan Cameron McDonald - Independent who was one of the eight candidates who contested the vacancy. Voters in the ward went to the poll yesterday (Thursday 11 April) and the by-election count was held this morning in The Highland Council Headquarters in Inverness.
