Agenda item

To seek approval to the modification of the current contract for the Northgate Housing system to March 2023 and to note the strategic review of the Housing, Asset and Repairs ICT systems.

Cabinet received a report on the review of the Housing, Asset and Repairs ICT systems with a view to developing a joint business requirement and procuring a single system solution. It also sought approval to the modification of the current contract for the Northgate Housing system to March 2023.

The Authority currently operated several ICT systems to deliver its Housing, Housing Property and Construction, Asset, and Strategic Investment and Property services. These services had limited interfaces to ensure the transfer of important information and data between them. 

A move to a unified solution could improve service delivery through more ‘joined up’ systems, processes and data, and had the potential to provide cost efficiencies.  Potential benefits included improved data quality; streamlined services; reduced interfaces between systems; and improved customer and user experience.

These benefits and others would need to be explored in more detail, agreed, documented and monitored through the proposed project. This was a significant project which would take 2-3 years from the initial system review through to full implementation.

The proposal was for a 3-stage process: Review, Procurement and Implementation, to be completed by 2023.  It was anticipated that the Review stage would be completed by Spring 2021.  A further report would be brought to Cabinet after this stage was completed, and when there were clear proposals for next steps.

In the interim, there was an opportunity to reduce the cost of the current Northgate Housing system through a modification of the current contract up until March 2023.  This would allow the service to cease maintaining elements of the software that were no longer used and, introduce some improvements to functionality, at a lower overall cost than maintaining the status quo while the longer-term unified system project was delivered. The key factors affecting a decision on the modified contract were set out in the report.

Cabinet considered the following decision options, which were based on the contract options available from the supplier.

There was no option to cease support and maintenance for the system.  The Northgate system supported approximately £65m in rent payments per year, and no alternative system would be available until the strategic procurement for the unified system was completed.

Option 1: Maintain the status quo:

This assumed the current configuration of the software was retained, with no additional functionality, and the contract continued to be renewed on an annual basis. 

Benefits:

•           No change in process, so no additional effort and no governance requirements

•           System continued to be supported by the supplier

•           Core system functionality (e.g. rents) continued to be available.

Disadvantages / risks:

•           Fails to take advantage of discount – cost was at least £11,000 more than the modified contract .

•           Maintained modules the Authority no longer used

•           Missed opportunity to obtain functionality that would improve customer service

•           Missed opportunity to ‘do more for less’

Option 2: Approve the modification of the contract (recommended):

Cabinet could authorise the modification of the contract to include improved functionality at a lower cost than maintaining the status quo.  This would provide ongoing system support and improve value for money in the interim, while a longer-term solution was procured

This option involved cancellation of unused elements of the software and introduced the improvements described in the report.  The maintenance cost over 3 years was lower than maintaining the status quo.

Benefits:

•           Cost saving compared to maintaining the status quo.

•           Opportunity to include functionality that better met the needs of the business, at lower cost than the current contract.

•           Opportunity to improve the service to customers

•           Matches long term strategic aims and aligned well to a future move to a unified system

•           Included the new APIs for connection to Alteryx

•           System continued to be supported by the supplier

•           Core system functionality (e.g. rents) continued to be available.

Disadvantages / risks:

•           Possible internal resource costs relating to implementation of new functionality and business process change.

Resolved that (1) the update on the Housing, Asset and Repairs ICT systems review, be noted; and

(2) the terms of the modification of the current contract for the Housing system be approved.

(Reasons for decision: This allows the functionality of the current system to be improved to better meet service objectives, at a lower cost than the current annual maintenance. 

It also aligns well with the strategic project to move to a unified system:

•           It allows the system to be maintained and supported by the supplier until the unified system project concludes in 2023.

•           It reduces some of the existing fragmentation of systems, which will reduce the complexity of the unified system project. 

•           It supports the customer-focused business process change that will be more fully delivered through the unified project.)