Elected Member Briefing - Council Chambers Systems Issues

About this Briefing Note

Report by: Graeme Plunkett, IT Service Manager

Date: 19 February 2025

Subject: Council Chambers System Issues

Details

Purpose

Inform Elected Members of the root cause and next steps regarding technical issues experienced in the Council Chambers on Monday 3 February and Wednesday 5 February. 

Briefing Information 

On Monday 3 February, an issue was reported to IT regarding the low volume in the Council Chambers. On Tuesday 4 February, our third-party support partner attended the site and resolved the issue by changing an audio setting within the system.  On Wednesday 5 February, at the commencement of the Economy and Infrastructure Committee meeting, it was discovered that remote participants were unable to hear the audio from the Chambers.  An IT staff member attended and resolved the issue by rebooting the microphone controller. 

We are liaising with our external support partner to review the recent issue with the microphone controller / system and to discuss options around replacing some or all parts of the existing solution earlier than planned.  Our IT Asset Management Plan includes the replacement of the chambers solution in 2026/27, we are now considering the feasibility of replacing the system, either partially or fully, during the summer recess of 2025 

Summary of previous incidents 

For context, in 2024, 16 incidents were recorded on the IT Helpdesk related to Council Chambers. Of these incidents, 6 were technical faults, with 2 disrupting committee meetings and necessitating business continuity arrangements. The remaining non-technical incidents were related to incorrect setup or usage of the equipment, which may also have disrupted meetings. 

Future approach 

Moving forward, an improved pre-committee meeting testing approach by Democratic Services and IT has been implemented to further reduce the risk of disruption. This improved testing approach will involve earlier and more detailed testing, allowing an opportunity to resolve certain issues before the start of a committee meeting. 

Implementing the above reduces the risk of future disruption but, as technology can fail at any point, we cannot guarantee Committee meetings will be issue-free. Therefore, contingency arrangements will always be required. 

The following meetings will be tested by both Democratic Services and IT at least 30 minutes before their planned start: 

• Audit & Risk Committee 
• Audit and Performance Committee of Perth and Kinross Integration Joint Board 
• Climate Change and Sustainability Committee 
• Common Good Fund Committees 
• Economy an Infrastructure Committee 
• Finance and Resources Committee 
• Housing & Social Wellbeing Committee 
• Joint Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff 
• Learning & Families Committee 
• Licensing Board 
• Licensing Committee 
• Lifelong Learning Executive Sub-Committee 
• Local Review Body 
• Perth & Kinross Council 
• Perth and Kinross Integration Joint Board 
• Planning and Placemaking Committee 
• Property Sub-Committee 
• Provost's Sub-Committee  
• Scrutiny and Performance Committee