Agenda item

Recommendation:

To consider the payment of an allowance towards acquiring computer equipment and materials for use in accessing information regarding the Council’s agenda and minutes via the Internet.

Attached is a copy of a report considered recently by the Council’s ICT and E Government Standing Scrutiny Panel.

The Scrutiny Panel is proposing, subject to the views of the Remuneration Panel, that a grant of £500 per annum be paid to each member to enable them to receive electronic notification of and internet access to papers for Council meetings and associated information.

The Panel noted that the Council had agreed an IT Strategy for Research and Democratic Services with the aim of setting timescales for the implementation of an electronic Committee Management System and to determine the means for Member Connectivity to the Council's network.

Members had been canvassed on the provision by the Council of IT equipment but over 70% of the respondents had advised that this was not their favoured option as they already had equipment in their homes and did not want another computer provided by the Council.

Following a tendering exercise during the Autumn of 2004, Nte (product name Modern.Gov) had been appointed to provide an electronic Committee Management System.  Implementation of the system had taken place during the period January-March 2005 and the system had become live on 1 April 2005.

Since 1 April, the Council had:

(a)        gone live on its website with all publicly available agenda and minutes;

(b)            undertaken a printed distribution review to establish the need for paper copies and implemented as far as practicable (results of the review); and

(c)            discussed and drafted a Member Connectivity Scheme.

The Panel considered the proposed Connectivity Scheme based on an annual grant of £500.00 to each member.  In order to obtain the grant it was proposed that members would need to undertake to:

(a)        provide their own computer with Internet access capability;

(b)        provide their own Broadband access to the Internet via a provider;

(c)        provide their own paper and print consumables except Members' headed stationery which would continue to be provided by the Council; and

(d)        only be provided with paper copies of agenda for those committees on which they were a member or were otherwise required to attend (e.g. as a member of the Cabinet).

A Scott and S Hill reported that in researching the Scheme, officers had found two other examples of authorities providing a grant for this purpose, Basildon Council (£500 per annum paid monthly) and East Cambridgeshire Council (£375 per annum).  However, most authorities who had undertaken Connectivity Schemes had provided  equipment and were prescriptive about its use.  Those Schemes were resource intensive in view of the officer support required.  Budget provision of £28,000 per annum had been available since 1 April 2005 but any scheme was unlikely to be implemented until January/March 2006.  It was understood that at present less than 20 Members of the Council did not have their own computer although it was recognised that the majority probably did not currently have Broadband.

I Willett advised that the proposed grant was in effect a proposal that the basic allowance be increased by £500 for each member.  Accordingly, the views of the Panel were being sought on the principle and the proposed amount of the grant.

The Panel questioned whether the grant would be taxable.  It was suggested that if it was used solely for Council purposes it should not be taxable.  It was pointed out that if the grant was taxable, the members in the higher tax bracket would only receive £300 net.  Officers were asked to research the liability for tax.

The Panel suggested that £500 would not be sufficient for a member to acquire a computer, Broadband, a printer and supplies.  However, for those members already having a suitable computer and printer, the sum appeared very generous.  Officers were asked if the various elements could be broken down and members only paid for those elements they needed to acquire.  It was pointed out that as part of the basic allowance, the same amount had to be offered to all members.  S Hill advised that those members signing up to the Scheme by 1 December 2005, would receive the full year's grant for 2005/06 of £500 which should help those needing to purchase hardware.

The Panel suggested that there were parts of the District where Broadband was currently unavailable.  S Hill advised there was possibly two members on the Council could not currently obtain Broadband.  A Scott advised that the Essex On-Line Partnership (Local Authority Group) was putting pressure on BT to provide Broadband on all exchanges in the County.

In conclusion, the Panel agreed to support the payment of a grant of £500 per annum as a supplement to the basic allowance but:

(a)            questioned where the grant should be taxable as it appeared to cover a necessary expense for councillors;

(b)            expressed concern about a grant being paid to all members as it was felt that the amount of £500 per annum was high for those members already having their own computer/printer etc; requested that members should be advised that there will be an expectation for those already having their own equipment to opt not to receive all or some of the grant;

(c)            suggested that a review be undertaken in relation to the payment of the grant in March 2009, i.e. after 4 financial years, by which time all members of the Council would be expected to have their own equipment.

I Willett advised that the Panel's views would be reported to the Council meeting in December and that prior to finalising the report, clarification would be sought on the tax position.  He also confirmed that those members signing up to the Scheme by 1 December 2005 would receive the full amount of the grant for the current financial year (£500 less tax, if necessary) and that from the next financial year (2006/07 those members signed up to the scheme would receive payments quarterly in arrears as part of their basic allowance.  He agreed to circulate the final report including clarification of the tax position to Members of the Panel via email.