Agenda and minutes

In the absence of the Lead Member, it was :-

RESOLVED – That Councillor Richard Coaton be elected Chair of the Panel for the duration of the meeting.

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 20 October 2014.

RESOLVED – That the Minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on 20 October 2014 be agreed as a correct record.

Councillors and Officers to declare any interests which they have in any of the items on the agenda for the meeting.

No declarations of interest were made.

(a)  To consider a report and presentation of the Head of Policy, Performance and Reform

The report and presentation examines the local context and baseline for access to digital services for Stockport residents.

The Panel is invited to comment on the report and accompanying presentation.

Officer Contact: Steve Skelton on 0161 474 3174 or email: steve.skelton@stockport.gov.uk

(b)  Tony Shield, Chief Officer at Anchorpoint, will also attend the meeting to discuss access to digital services for Stockport residents from his organisation’s viewpoint.

The Head of Policy, Performance and Reform submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) examining the local context and baseline for access to digital services for residents of Stockport. He made a presentation which examined the key lines of enquiry with regard to access in so far as they related to people’s age, socio-economic situation or whether they had a disability or other physical or mental illness; businesses; and voluntary and community groups. The presentation examined digital trends, the principles which lay behind the Digital by Design Project in Stockport, the benefits of being connected and the national context with regard to digital inclusion. It provided information with regard to broadband usage in Stockport and a programme to increase speed and connectivity as part of the digital roll-out of broadband to businesses, and also the Council’s Public Wifi Project.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

·         The expansion of digital services in Stockport would provide the Council with the opportunity to provide information to residents more intelligently, create an information bank from the moment a resident first created a transactional form with the Council and target information to people if they wished.

·         The Council would be considering whether or not to develop packages such as Fix my Street.

·         The data with regard to access by age needed to be broken down into smaller age groups.

·         Internet usage, including the use of smartphones and tablets, was increasing year by year. The number of people who did not have basic on-line skills had reduced.

·         The percentage of disabled people with access to the internet was slightly under the national average.

·         The proportion of households with broadband access had increased by approximately 60% between 2004 and 2014.

·         Access to digital training was usually facilitated by signposting residents to organisations such as the Citizens Advice Bureau. Barclays Bank was also offering training and Argos was providing training in selected stores.

·         The Council’s Public Wifi project would see eighteen Council buildings installed with wifi access in 2015. Discussions were being held with Stockport Direct to see if there were any staff in the Council’s libraries who would be able to offer assistance to residents with their own mobile IT devices. In addition, there were some people who were very proficient with smartphones but reluctant to access PCs.

·         People’s ability to access the internet was also important in the context of social isolation.

Michael Fisher, Programme Management and Funding Manager in the Place Directorate, reported on the Women and Broadband Pilot which was a Government pilot until March 2015 being delivered by the Digital Growth hub and was open to businesses. It was aimed at higher end digital skills such as apps.

Tony Shield, Chief Officer at Anchorpoint, reported on access to digital services for community and voluntary groups. PCs and laptops were provided by the organisation and drop-in sessions had been held in order to help people develop their IT skills.

RESOLVED – (1) That copies of the presentation be forwarded to Members of the Panel.

(2) That Members of the Panel be provided with links to the landing page for the Greater Manchester Superfast Broadband demand stimulation website and the LocalGovDigital Council website usability dashboard.

Future meetings of the Panel will be held on the following dates:-

·         20 January 2015 – the barriers with regard to digital accessibility.

·         24 February 2015 – the Council’s role in addressing the barriers to digital accessibility.

·         24 March 2015 – final report and recommendations.

RESOLVED – That the dates of the future meetings of the Panel be noted.