Agenda item

To consider a report by the Head of Information Management Division regarding the options for the District Council’s Call Centre prior to its consideration by the Cabinet.

(Councillor T V Rogers, Executive Councillor for Resources and Customer Services was, in attendance for this item).

With the assistance of a report by the Head of Information Management (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) the Panel considered a range of options for managing the District Council’s Call Centre beyond December 2012. By way of introduction, the Head of Customer Services explained that the main IT contracts for the Call Centre ended in December 2012 and the lease for the Speke House premises was due to expire in June 2013. As a consequence, the Council had been looking at how it would provide a call centre service after these dates and a number of options had been evaluated.  Attention having been drawn to the recommendations in section 6 of the report, Members were provided with a revised copy of Appendix 3 (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book).

In considering the contents of the report, the Panel were of the opinion that the Call Centre continued to provide an excellent service and that the Council should retain a District Council operated and staffed Call Centre beyond December 2012. At the suggestion of Councillor T V Rogers, the Panel discussed the future location of the Call Centre. Although Members were minded in principle to extend the lease of space and facilities at Speke House, the Panel agreed, that given the potential for sub-letting was likely to be reduced in the current economic climate, further consideration should be given to utilising the District Council’s own property portfolio. With this in mind, it was agreed that further information should be provided at a future meeting of the Panel on the options available for the location of the Call Centre.  It was also suggested that any negotiations with the County Council concerning the premises at Speke House should include the option to secure a 12 month rolling lease to enable the situation to be reviewed on a regular basis.

With regard to the proposals to procure a Customer Relationship Management System and in response to a question by a Member, the Panel’s attention was drawn to the price comparison data which had been compiled in May / June 2011. Members were informed that the County Council had indicated that there would be a reduction in the cost of the current package. It was suggested that the decision by South Cambridgeshire District Council to end their current arrangements with Cambridgeshire Direct might provide Huntingdonshire District Council an opportunity to negotiate a better agreement with the County Council. Members were advised that the indicative prices would not be affected if the District Council did not collaborate with South Cambridgeshire or Fenland District Councils. With regards to the cost of any additional investment, it was suggested that a more rigorous approach should be adopted to analysing their financial implications. Whereupon and having regard to the fact that the lease at Speke House did not expire for a further 18 months, it was

RESOLVED

(i)  that the Cabinet be recommended to

a)  retain a District Council operated and staffed Call Centre beyond December 2012;

b)  authorise the Project Team (supported by Legal / Estates and Facilities as required) to initiate negotiations with Cambridgeshire County Council  to extend the lease of space / facilities at Speke House for 3 years on the basis of a 12 month rolling lease  subject to further consideration being given to utilising the District Council’s own property portfolio;

c)  authorise the Project Team to commence a formal procurement process for a replacement CRM system, subject to a more rigorous approach being adopted to analysing the financial implications of the available options;

d)  authorise the Project Team to continue discussions with South Cambridgeshire and Fenland District Councils regarding any possible collaboration on the procurement of or sharing of technology;

e)  request the Project Team to communicate with Cambridgeshire County Council and monitor that authority’s position prior to the final decision being taken;

f)  delegate the final decision on the future CRM options to the Managing Director (Resources) after consultation with the Executive Councillor for Resources and Customer Services, on the understanding that the cost is anticipated to be cost neutral; and

g)  retain and extend the agreements for the use of the County Council’s Avaya Automated Call Distribution telephony system; and

ii)  that the Head of Customer Services be requested to submit a further report on the location of the Call Centre to a future meeting.