Hillingdon Council Cabinet Member and Officer Decisions
Corporate Technology and Innovation Programme Release No 1: Telephony, LAN WAN & Internet Security
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Democratic Services
Location: Phase II
Ext: 7655
DDI: 01895 277655
CMD No: 568
To: COUNCILLOR IAN EDWARDS
LEADER OF THE COUNCIL
COUNCILLOR MARTIN GODDARD
CABINET MEMBER FOR FINANCE
COUNCILLOR DOUGLAS MILLS
CABINET MEMBER FOR CORPORATE SERVICES
c.c. All Members of th e Finance and Corporate
Services Select Committee
c.c. Michael Clarke – Central Services Directorate
c.c. Jo Allen – Central Services Directorate
c.c. Daniel Kennedy , Corporate Director of Central
Services
Date: 25 August 2022
Non-Key Decision request Form D
CAPITAL RELEASE REPORT July 2022
DEPARTMENT: Resources
SERVICE AREA / PROGRAMME: Corporate Technology and Innovation Programme
Release No 1: Telephony, LAN WAN & Internet Security
Dear Cabinet Members
Attached is a report requesting that a decision be made by you as an individual Cabinet
Member. Democratic Services confirm that this is not a key decision, as such, the Local
Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England)
Regulations 2012 notice period does not apply.
You should take a decision on or after Monday 5 September 2022 in order to meet
Constitutional requirements about publication of decisions that are to be made. You may
wish to discuss the report with the Corporate Director before it is made. Please indicate your
decision on the duplicate memo supplied, and return it to me when you have made your
decision. I will then arrange for the formal notice of decision to be published.
Anisha Teji
Democratic Services Officer
Title of Report: Corporate Technology and Innovation Programme Release No 1:
Telephony, LAN WAN & Internet Security
Decision made:
Reasons for your decision: (e.g. as stated in report)
Alternatives considered and rejected: (e.g. as stated in report)
Signed ………………………………………………………Date……………………..
Leader of the Council/ Cabinet Member for Finance / Cabinet Member for Corporate
Services
Capital Release Report – 25 August 2022
Part 1 Public
CAPITAL RELEASE REPORT July 2022
DEPARTMENT: Resources
SERVICE AREA / PROGRAMME: Corporate Technology and Innovation Programme
Release No 1: Telephony, LAN WAN & Internet Security
Cabinet Members Councillor Ian Edwards
Councillor Martin Goddard
Councillor Douglas Mills
Cabinet Portfolios Leader of the Council
Cabinet Member for Finance
Cabinet Member for Corporate Services
Officer Contact Michael Clarke – Central Services Directorate
Jo Allen – Resources Directorate
Papers with report Appendix A with capital release requests for approval
HEADLINES
Summary
To seek Cabinet Member approval for the release of capital funds
to allow for provision of Wireless Network Access Points to all
Hillingdon Remote sites.
Putting our
Residents First
This report supports the Council objectives of:
• Our People
• Strong Financial Management.
This report contributes to the delivery of the previously approved
Telephony, (w)LAN, WAN and Internet Security Project.
Financial Cost This report seeks the release of £220k for enhancement of the
wireless coverage components of the Telephony, LAN, WAN &
Internet Security project.
The project manager is David Cronin. The works will commence
upon release of the funds and are due for completion by
December 2022.
Relevant Select
Committee
Finance and Corporate Services Select Committee
Ward(s) affected N/A
Capital Release Report – 25 August 2022
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RECOMMENDATIONS
That the Leader, Cabinet Member for Finance and the Cabinet Member for Corporate
Services agree to the capital release request of £220k from the 2022/23 General Capital
Contingency for funding of Wireless Access Points of the Telephony, LAN, WAN & Internet
Security project (Appendix A).
Reasons for recommendation
A robust network infrastructure is essential for the Council’s business continuity. A ubiquitous
Wireless Network Infrastructure is a key information technology component that enables mobility
for Council staff to roam between Council offices whilst using a single wireless network to
communicate with each other, with residents and third-party contacts, and to access the Council’s
applications and data in the delivery of service to residents.
ICT has a vision to transform and modernise services, focusing on improving the way that the
Council works and improving services to its residents. To support these strategic objectives, the
underlying ICT infrastructure must be modern, flexible and reliable. ICT aim to reduce or
eliminate, where possible, the Council’s reliance upon the Civic Centre, with new services
procured or designed to enable staff to continue working independently if the Civic Centre is
inaccessible or no longer connected to the network.
In the years since ICT began implementing wireless access as a ‘nice- to-have' option in remote
locations, including staff offices, libraries and adults’/children's centres, the evolution of the
corporate asset strategy, usage of larger remote sites and changes to staff working practices and
staff relocation have increased reliance on the Council’s wireless network.
The capital release proposed in this report will provide support and maintenance for an enhanced
and expanded wireless network infrastructure, enabling Council staff greater mobility within
Council offices to continue fulfilling services to residents, while allowing ICT and Thrive Networks
to transform these services to a modern, cost-effective solution that conforms to the ICT strategy
of reducing reliance upon the Civic Centre by using Cloud, Hosted or Hybrid technologies where
appropriate.
Alternative options considered
Remote site surveys that could not be completed efficiently or cost -effectively within the tender
period (none of the tenderers offered site surveys prior to submitting their tender) took place
following the awarding of the Telephony, LAN, WAN and Internet Security contracts to ONI PLC.
The site surveys were targeted specifically at wireless coverage at critical sites and how staff
usage of wireless at those sites has changed over the years. A number of options and costings
were then considered:
Capital Release Report – 25 August 2022
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1. Do Nothing
Doing nothing will render the existing wireless network infrastructure unsupported,
unlicensed and reliant on the Civic Centre. Council staff within the Civic Centre and
working remotely at other council-occupied buildings rely upon the Network Infrastructure
in the delivery of their contractual duties. This is not recommended.
2. Balance increased wireless coverage at all sites against cost of that coverage
ICT worked with Procurement colleagues and Thrive Networks to fully review the wireless
network requirements. Four cost options were presented, offering cost comparisons
between a mini mum replacement of like -for-like wireless coverage at all sites against a
maximum offering of full wireless coverage at all sites. ICT used site surveys and
knowledge of known wireless coverage issues at specific sites to identify key sites where
increased wireless coverage would provide clear improvement to staff capability at those
sites. The chosen option details the number of Wireless Access Points required at each
site and represents a reasonable balance between wireless coverage and cost, with an
emphasis on improving wireless coverage at those sites where it would be most beneficial.
3. Re-Tender for additional / expanded Wireless Requirements
ICT worked with Procurement colleagues and Thrive Networks to fully review the Wireless
Network requirements. Adding the cost of the expanded wireless requirements to the cost
of the original tender remains more cost effective than other options within the original
tender.
Inter-dependencies between solutions for wired and wireless networks are such that
complications may arise if components of the solution are delivered by different suppliers.
ICT Officers recommend that the solution is delivered and maintained by a single supplier
to reduce cost and complexity of the solution and make for easier management of the
contract. Procurement officers have confirmed that awarding Lots to different suppliers
would raise the overall cost of the solution over the contract period.
Democratic compliance / previous authority
Cabinet has previously granted approval for the awarding of Telephony, LAN, WAN and Internet
Security contracts to ONI PLC, who were subsequently acquired by Thrive Networks. This paper
requests capital funding to provide extended wireless coverage following site surveys that were
not possible to undertake during the initial tender process.
Cabinet authority is ordinarily required for the use of the Council’s contingency budgets – capital
or revenue. However, the Leader of the Council is also authorised in the Constitution to release
contingency funds in the absence of a Cabinet meeting and, if approved, it is noted that it will be
reported as part of the Cabinet’s budget monitoring report. Decision-making on this specific capital
release is, therefore to the Leader, Cabinet Member for Finance and the portfolio Cabinet Member
for Corporate Services.
Capital Release Report – 25 August 2022
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Select Committee comments
None at this stage.
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
The London Borough of Hillingdon (LBH) currently bases a considerable proportion of its staff at
the Civic Centre in Uxbridge, and at a variety of remote locations around the Borough, including
Libraries, Adult and Child Centres, and administrative offices. Although in recent history an
increased number of staff have worked remotely, the Civic Centre is currently the central hub for
the Council’s Wide Area Connectivity to the internet and its Azure IaaS tenancy.
The ICT department has a vision to reduce/remove the reliance on the Civic Centre for its
operations, whilst driving down the cost of Wide Area Connectivity, aiming to provide a network
infrastructure that can adapt to strategic decisions made by Senior and Corporate Asset
Management, meet the needs of a flexible workforce and which considers the Civic Centre as an
important spoke on the LBH Wide Area Network, rather than as a central point of potential failure.
The Council has previously migrated its users from G-Suite to Office 365 (Exchange Online, E3)
alongside an ‘End- User-Device' refresh to Windows 10. Core business applications that were
previously hosted at the Civic Centre have or will be moved to Microsoft Azure or consumed as
Software as a Service. The Wireless Local Area Network at each site is the first step in connecting
the ‘End-User Devices’ at that site to the various applications and services required. The capital
release proposed by this paper will ensure staff at remote Council buildings will have improved
wireless coverage (and therefore improved mobility within each location) and are able to continue
working in the event of any failure at the Civic Centre.
Breakdown of Costs
Previous Cabinet approvals for remote site connectivity are in place, allowing the continued use
of existing Wide-Area Network Remote Site Connectivity (Express Routes, Virgin Media, BT/O2
Broadband) while services are transformed and transitioned to the new solution. As remote site
links are transitioned to the new solution, existing links will be terminated. This paper is concerned
with the level of Wireless Access to be installed at each site. The Wireless access points will be
provided and supported by Thrive Networks Limited, and any cabling / installation work will be
completed by Concept, who have an existing long, and strong working relationship with Hillingdon
ICT.
The breakdown of capital allocation for the additional Wireless access points and associated
hardware and installation costs for the recommended option is shown in the table 1 below.
Capital Release Report – 25 August 2022
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Table 1: Hardware & Installation Costs
Civic Centre - 21 Additional Access Points
MR46 21 £929.46 £19,518.66
MR Enterprise License 3 Year 21 £188.24 £3,953.04
External Sites - 276 Additional Access Points, and 11 Teleworker devices
broken down as follows:
MR Wireless Access Point Enterprise License
3 Year 276 £188.24 £51,954.24
Brackets 50 £164.00 £8,200.00
Standard Sites:
MR36 Wireless Access Points 269 £356.96 £96,022.24
Z3C LTE Teleworker Gateway 11 £525.73 £5,783.03
Z3C Enterprise License 3 Year 11 £241.07 £2,651.77
Professional Services for Z3C Installation 1 £2,450.00 £2,450.00
Manor Farm Library (Listed Building – Mounting Access points on
Walls/Ceiling prohibited)
MR36 Wireless Access Points 2 £356.96 £713.92
MR46E Wireless Access Points with below
accessories 2 £900.67 £1,801.34
Meraki Patch Antenna 2 £349.05 £698.10
Meraki Antenna Mount 2 £115.97 £231.94
Yeading Library (Difficult structure for cabling)
MR36 Wireless Access Point 1 £356.96 £356.96
MR46E Wireless Access Points with below
accessories 2 £900.67 £1,801.34
Meraki Bendable Dipole Antenna 2 £115.97 £231.94
Concept Installation Charges (est.) £60,000
Additional Cabling Requirements (est.) £10,000
Total £266,368.52
Capital Release Report – 25 August 2022
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Thrive credit contribution towards project.
Credit represents value of equipment no longer
required that is being bought back by Cisco.
Confirmation received from Thrive that credit
will be applied.
-£83,379
£182,989.24
Table 2 below provides the project cost breakdown based on the contractor:-
Description Amount
(£’000s)
Thrive Network Ltd – Hardware (net of credit) 113
Concept Communications – Materials & Installation 70
Sub Total 183
Internal Fees 18
Project Contingency 19
Total Project Cost 220
Financial Implications
2022/23 General Capital Contingency Budget £1,500k, Previously Released / Pending
Release £0k, Capital Release Requested £220k - Appendix A
In March 2021, Cabinet approved the tender from ONI Plc, now acquired by Thrive Networks, for
the provision of a digitalised Cloud- based Telephony and Contact Centre solution, and the
support, maintenance and transformation of Local Area Network, Wireless, Wide Area Network,
and Internet Security solutions for six -years from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2027 at the value of
£4,047k (revenue and capital) . The contractual capital elements of the project amounted to
£1,194k, plus internal project management fees and project contingency, over the li fe of the
contract and cover the cost of replacing hardware that is near the end of its existing operational
life, ensuring that the Council’s network infrastructure will be robust in the medium to long term .
In 2021/22, capital release approval was obtained for £810k from the Corporate Technology and
Innovation capital budget, comprising Year 1 project implementation and hardware costs of £736k
plus 5% project management fees and 5% project contingency. Further capital costs of £458k
covering planned replacement costs in Years 4-6 are included in the 2024/25-2026/27 Corporate
Technology and Innovation capital budget.
Site surveys conducted by the contractor at various remote sites across the borough have
identified a need for additional access points and related infrastructure at a cost of £220k . The
cost is based on quotations from Thrive Network Ltd including a credit that will be applied to the
hardware costs, as well as estimated costs for cabling and installation from Concept
Communications. The cost plan also includes internal fees and project contingency at circa 10%
each of the total works costs of £183k.
Capital Release Report – 25 August 2022
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These additional costs are above the original tendered sum and cannot be managed within the
existing total project budget for Network and Telephony within the Corporate Technology and
Innovation capital budget, therefore it is proposed to fund and release this from the 2022/23
General Capital Contingency budget of £1,500k, which is currently uncommitted , and report the
virement to Cabinet in an upcoming monthly budget monitoring report for ratification and
transparency.
RESIDENT BENEFIT & CONSULTATION
The benefit or impact upon residents, service users and communities?
The Wireless Local Area Network at each site is the first step in connecting the ‘End-User Devices’
at that site to the various applications and services required in the delivery of their services. The
transformation of both the wireless network and the wide-area network will improve the resilience
of both Council officer devices and publicly accessible devices (e.g. public PCs at libraries). The
capital release proposed by this paper will ensure staff (and visitors, where guest public wireless
is made available) at remote Council buildings will have improved wireless coverage (and
therefore improved mobility) within each location and be able to continue working in the event of
failure at the Civic Centre.
Consultation carried out or required
N/A
CORPORATE CONSIDERATIONS
Corporate Finance
Corporate finance notes the additional costs of the Network and Telephony project of £220k to
provide additional access points and infrastructure at remote sites that were not able to be
identified and included in the original tendered sum and contract award. This investment is
aligned to the Council’s emerging asset management strategy, ensuring that connectivity is in
place across the estate to meet service requirements. It is proposed to manage these costs from
the 2022-23 general capital contingency budget of £1,500k, financed by Council resources.
Legal
The Borough Solicitor confirms that the Council is responsible for carrying out this function
pursuant to Section 40 of the Data Protection Act 2018 (which confers a duty on the Council to
use appropriate technical or organisational measures to ensure its ICT has appropriate security
arrangements), and Article 32 of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (which confers a
duty on the Council to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure a
level of security appropriate to the risk). Thus, there are no legal impediments to the capital
release being authorised, although any contract entered into must comply with the Council’s
Procurement and Contract Standing Orders.
Capital Release Report – 25 August 2022
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Infrastructure / Asset Management
Consideration has been made for buildings known to be listed and therefore require specific
Wireless Access points that will not be mounted on walls or ceilings.
Capital Release Protocol
The release of all capital funds, and certain revenue funds, held by the Council is to be made by
a formal democratic decision. No expenditure can be placed or committed by officers until this
formal approval is given by Democratic Services. Release of funds must be for identified
projects only and strictly not for the general release of funds for projects to be identified at a
later date. No block releases of capital or funding will be allowed, except if authorised by the
Leader of the Council in advance to Corporate Finance. The release of funds will only be made
if previous Council, Cabinet or Cabinet Member agreement has been given to the project and
only if there is an approved budget.
BACKGROUND PAPERS
NIL
Capital Release Report – 25 August 2022
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APPENDIX A
2022/23 General Capital Contingency Budget – Telephony, LAN, WAN &
Internet Security
Location
Project /
Expenditure
Title
Information
Funds
Release
Sought
£000’s
Approve Hold
More
Information
Required
Borough
Wide
Telephony,
LAN, WAN &
Internet
Security
Hardware &
Installation Costs 220
Total seeking release 220
Previously released / pending release 0
Budget 1,500
Remaining budget 1,280
View Decision / Minutes Text
Executive Decision Notice – 23 September 2022 Page 1 This notice is a public document also available to view on the Council's website www.hillingdon.gov.uk OFFICIAL EXECUTIVE DECISION NOTICE PUBLISHED BY DEMOCRATIC SERVICES Notice is hereby given that the following decision(s) have been made today by Cabinet Members at the London Borough of Hillingdon: Title of decision CAPITAL RELEASE REPORT July 2022 DEPARTMENT: Resources SERVICE AREA / PROGRAMME: Corporate Technology and Innovation Programme Release No 1: Telephony, LAN WAN & Internet Security Reference No. 568 Date of decision Friday 23 September 2022 Call-in expiry date 5pm, Friday 30 September 2022 Relevant Select Committee Finance and Corporate Services Select Committee Relevant Wards N/A Decision made Cabinet Members making the decision Councillor Ian Edwards - Leader of the Council Councillor Martin Goddard – Cabinet Member for Finance Councillor Douglas Mills - Cabinet Member for Corporate Services Approved That the Leader, Cabinet Member for Finance and the Cabinet Member for Corporate Services agree to the capital re lease request of £220k from the 2022/23 General Capital Contingency for funding of Wireless Access Points of the Telephony, LAN, WAN & Internet Security project. Reason for decision The capital release will provide support and maintenance for an enhanced and expanded wireless network infrastructure, enabling Council staff greater mobility within Council offices to continue fulfilling services to residents, while allowing ICT and Thrive Networks to transform these services to a modern, cost -effective solution that conforms to the ICT strategy of reducing reliance upon the Civic Centre by using Cloud, Hosted or Hybrid technologies where appropriate. Alternative options considered and rejected Remote site surveys that could not be completed efficiently or cost - effectively within the tender period (none of the tenderers offered site surveys prior to submitting their tender) took place following the awarding of the Telephony, LAN, WAN and Internet Security contracts to ONI PLC. The site surveys were targeted specifically at Executive Decision Notice – 23 September 2022 Page 2 This notice is a public document also available to view on the Council's website www.hillingdon.gov.uk wireless coverage at critical sites and how staff usage of wireless at those sites has changed over the years. A number of options and costings were then considered: 1. Do Nothing Doing nothing will render the existing wireless network infrastructure unsupported, unlicensed and reliant on the Civic Centre. Council staff within the Civic Centre and working remotely at other council- occupied buildings rely upon the Network Infrastructure in the delivery of their contractual duties. This is not recommended. 2. Balance increased wireless coverage at all sites against cost of that coverage ICT worked with Procurement colleagues and Thrive Networks to fully review the wireless network requirements. Four cost options were presented, offering cost comparisons between a minimum replacement of like-for-like wireless coverage at all sites against a maximum offering of full wireless coverage at all sites. ICT used site surveys and knowledge of known wireless coverage issues at specific sites to identify key sites where increased wireless coverage would provide clear improvement to staff capability at those sites. The chosen option details the number of Wireless Access Points required at each site and represents a reasonable balance between wireless coverage and cost, with an emphasis on improving wireless coverage at those sites where it would be most beneficial. 3. Re-Tender for additional / expanded Wireless Requirements ICT worked with Procurement colleagues and Thrive Networks to fully review the Wireless Network requirements. Adding the cost of the expanded wireless requirements to the cost of the original tender remains more cost effective than other options within the original tender. Inter-dependencies between solutions for wired and wireless networks are such that complications may arise if components of the solution are delivered by different suppliers. ICT Officers recommend that the solution is delivered and maintained by a single supplier to reduce cost and complexity of the solution and make for easier management of the contract. Procurement officers have confirmed that awarding Lots to different suppliers would raise the overall cost of the solution over the contract period. Classification Part 1 – Public Link to associated report https://hillingdon.sharepoint.com/:b:/s/CabinetMemberDecision/EffrO toBhmtGnB5G0ShV600Br7tfYfxKpda-k-RdZua-dQ Relevant Officer contact & Directorate Michael Clarke – Central Services Directorate Jo Allen – Resources Directorate Executive Decision Notice – 23 September 2022 Page 3 This notice is a public document also available to view on the Council's website www.hillingdon.gov.uk Any interest declared by the Cabinet Member(s) / dispensation granted N/A Implementation of decision & scrutiny call-in [Internal Use only] When can this decision be implemented by officers? Officers can implement Cabinet Member decision in this notice only from the expiry of the scrutiny call-in period which is: 5pm, Friday 30 September 2022 However, this is subject to the decision not being called in by Councillors on the relevant Select Committee. Upon receipt of a valid call-in request, Democratic Services will immediately advise the relevant officer(s) and the decision must then be put on hold. Councillor scrutiny call-in of this decision Councillors on the relevant Select Committee shown in this notice may request to call-in this decision. The request must be before the expiry of the scrutiny call-in period above. Councillors should use the Scrutiny Call-in App (link below) on their devices to initiate any call-in request. Further advice can be sought from Democratic Services if required: Scrutiny Call-In - Power Apps (secure) Further information These decisions, where applicable, have been taken under The Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012. This is the formal notice by the Council of the above executive decision, including links to the reports where applicable. If you would like more information on this decision, please contact Democratic Services on 01895 250636 or email: democratic@hillingdon.gov.uk. Circulation of this decision notice is to a variety of people including Members of the Council, Corporate Directors, Officers, Group Secretariats and the Public. Copies are also placed on the Council’s website. Democratic Services London Borough of Hillingdon Civic Centre Executive Decision Notice – 23 September 2022 Page 4 This notice is a public document also available to view on the Council's website www.hillingdon.gov.uk High Street Uxbridge UB8 1UW