Agenda item

(Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Sinclair)

Report of Director of Communities & the Environment

(Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Sinclair)

Cabinet received a report from the Director of Communities and the Environment which set out the business case to modify the Public Space and White Lund Depot CCTV model from a 4G cellular network to Wi-Fi with an aim of reducing operating costs and generating financial efficiencies from 21/22 onwards. The report provided Cabinet with detailed information on the financial, governance and operational aspects of operating CCTV and included recommendations to merge all corporate CCTV onto a single cloud-based platform.

The options, options analysis, including risk assessment and officer preferred option, were set out in the report as follows:

The officer preferred option was Option 1.  Wi-Fi networks provide the council with an   opportunity to reduce the operating costs of the public space and White Lund Depot CCTV systems and have the added benefit of offering the public with access to the network at key points. The project will consider the future use of council assets and build in appropriate measures if offices are repurposed, sold, or leased. Options for relocating the point to point antennas and break out points will be developed. Additionally, it will be important to ensure that all P2P antennas are located on city council property, with the necessary permission and planning consent where appropriate.  The use of a 4G network is still advantageous where cameras need to be regularly moved and deployed i.e. environmental enforcement, fly tipping applications. These specialised applications can be delivered within existing budgets.

Councillor Sinclair proposed, seconded by Councillor Reynolds:-

“That the recommendations, as set out in the report, be approved.”

Councillors then voted:-

Resolved unanimously:

(1)             That Cabinet agree to the council wide CCTV model outlined in the report to reduce operating costs and generate financial efficiencies from 2021/22 onwards.

(2)        That officers are delegated to commence on the preparation and implementation of such a system, in line with the costs contained within the report.

(3)        That £58,700 be allocated from the invest to save reserve in the current year, to be repaid from ongoing revenue savings in 2021/22.

(4)        That the general fund and housing revenue account be updated to include the new financial model regarding CCTV as part of the forthcoming 2021/22 budget process.

Officer responsible for effecting the decision:

Director of Communities and the Environment

Reasons for making the decision:

The current CCTV contract is due to expire on 28th August 2020. The proposal from the supplier evaluated to provide best value is to build on the advantages of the current model and retain a cloud-based CCTV solution using a more cost-effective method of transferring data to the cloud. The decision enables the invest to save reserve to be utilised to deliver the project in 2020/21, prior to the expiry of the current contract.

The decision is consistent with the following Council priorities and cross-cutting themes:

 A Co-operative, Kind and Responsible Council specifically embracing innovative ways of working to improve service delivery and the operations of the council.

 Providing value for money and ensuring that we are financially resilient and sustainable.

 Contributing to local wealth building and providing social value

 Community Safety