Agenda item

[To review the progress to date on the FutureWorks programme and provide any feedback or questions to the programme team.]

Mark Taylor presented the report. He referred to paragraph 2.2, and indicated the complexity of installing the largest replacement IT system at the Council in recent years. He acknowledged there had been significant challenges with regards to payroll and payment, but advised the Panel that employees of the City of Wolverhampton Academy Trust, Woden Academy and Wolverhampton Homes had been paid through Agresso. He highlighted that the system was ready to pay Council staff in October, but noted that a few further checks would be made to ensure that risks were kept to a minimum. He explained that the Council was still working through a backlog of payments, with approximately 3,000 overdue, but indicated that around 2,000 were due to suppliers submitting an invoice with no order number. He advised that the Council was working with suppliers to avoid having to send these back and noted that the system had paid out over £150 million since 1 April.

Keith Ireland explained they had also developed a business continuity solution that would run a previous Bankers’ Automated Clearing Services (BACS) file, which could be used to pay people in case of any issues. He advised the Panel that the system was working well, and that a lot of the teething issues had arisen due to people needing to adapt. He indicated that a significant number of incomplete orders were sitting in managers’ inboxes. He explained that extra support and training would be provided, and that Agresso would soon be providing reports with a lot more in-depth information.

Cllr M Jaspal referred to page 11, and enquired if this included all land owned by the Council.

Mark Taylor explained that the Council needed to put values on its assets, and that a module within the Agresso system would keep this information.

Cllr Bolshaw referred to points 2.5 and 7.1, and enquired if the targets to reduce the number of staff had been met.

Mark Taylor advised that they had already delivered the £1 million target for 2014/15, and explained that plans and restructures were in place to meet the £2.5 million target for 2015/16. He noted that currently they had more people tied down sorting out teething problems, but indicated that the system was significantly cheaper to maintain in comparison to the Mainframe.

Cllr Angus referred to page 11, and enquired about the project costing and billing. He asked about the number of transactions that had been completed since the go live date, the number of complaints, and the number of payments missed within the agreed payment period. He also asked how long the 1000 outstanding payments which were not waiting for an order number would take to process.

Keith Ireland explained that a new process to manage service information had gone live on 1 October, which would provide faster and more accurate statistics. He indicated that a further report would need to be brought to the Panel to provide evidence of the number of transactions, and those which the Council had failed to process within the agreed payment period. He advised the Panel that if they were aware of a complaint made in relation to a late payment, to forward it onto himself or Mark Taylor to ensure it was completed. In response to a question about companies not providing order numbers, Keith Ireland advised that it created slightly more work for companies, and that it was a teething problem.

Cllr Collingswood enquired if the issue of late payments due to managers not processing them was due to an inadequacy of training.

Keith Ireland advised that all requisitioners and managers had been trained, and that reports would identify particular individuals who required further support.

Resolved:

1.    That the report detailing the progress on the FutureWorks programme be received

2.    That a report providing further statistical detail with regards to the transactions and payments made by Agresso be presented to the Panel.