The Brent, Lewisham and Southwark IT Committee met on Tuesday 17 March 2026 to discuss the performance of the Shared Technology Service (STS), including service level agreements, ongoing projects, and financial updates. A key decision made was to note Southwark Council's formal notice to exit the shared service partnership by March 2028.

Shared Technology Service Performance Update

Fabio Negro, Managing Director of Shared Technology Services (STS), presented an update on the service's performance between November 2025 and February 2026. He reported improvements in Service Level Agreement (SLA) performance for Priority 3 (P3) and Priority 4 (P4) operational issues, alongside a reduction in open calls. Despite an increase in total open tickets, attributed to the normal post-holiday surge and the Windows 11 refresh projects in Southwark and Lewisham, STS achieved its second-lowest number of open issues since the service's inception.

Councillor Stephanie Cryan inquired about the increase in open tickets in January and February, which Fabio Negro explained was due to a combination of factors, including the typical post-Christmas uptick in IT issues and an additional influx of around 50 calls per week related to the ongoing laptop projects. Councillor Amanda De Ryk sought clarification on the graphs presented, asking if they related to the narrative above or below them. Fabio Negro confirmed they related to the section above, and Councillor De Ryk suggested that headings on the graphs would be helpful for clarity.

The committee discussed Priority 1 (P1) and Priority 2 (P2) incidents. There were 10 P1 incidents during the reporting period, a decrease from the previous period, though the Major Incident KPI was breached in December 2025 with six incidents. These were partly caused by third-party infrastructure issues, including problems with Virgin Media, Genesys call centre service, and Cloudflare. Councillor James-J Walsh raised concerns about the reliance on specific individuals for reporting and the need for continuity planning and resilience management, especially following the sad passing of Tim Green, Head of Strategy and Technology, and Frank Lee, Security Monitoring and Performance Officer. He also asked how the committee could understand how the team learns from P1 incidents. Fabio Negro assured members that lessons learned from P1 incidents inform incident response protocols and service resilience, and that reporting issues would hopefully be resolved by the next joint committee meeting.

Regarding P2 incidents, there were 17 calls raised, with no month exceeding the target of 15. The SLA for P2 incidents was met by 70% within 8 hours. Councillor De Ryk asked about the confidence that cases are being closed as quickly as possible, noting the absence of a target for the number of open cases. Fabio Negro explained that while there isn't a specific SLA for closing numbers of tickets, there are SLAs for response times to P1 and P2 incidents, and that reporting issues had impacted the ability to present all data. He committed to including relevant graphs and explanations in future reports.

Projects and Initiatives

Several ongoing projects were discussed:

• Laptop Refresh and Windows 11 Upgrades: Brent has completed its laptop rollout. Lewisham is making good progress, with most upgrades done and new laptops being rolled out. Southwark has largely distributed its new laptops.
• Cloud Computing: Brent and Lewisham are discussing future cloud strategies, including potential moves to Microsoft Azure. Southwark began its migration to Microsoft Azure approximately two years ago and is now largely migrated.
• Email Filtering System: The service has migrated from Proofpoint to Microsoft Defender for Office, which has presented some challenges in tuning but has unlocked significant savings.

Southwark's Exit from the Partnership

A significant announcement was Southwark Council's formal notice to exit the Shared Technology Services partnership, with an intended completion date of 31 March 2028. A dedicated transition manager has been appointed by Southwark, and STS is looking to appoint one as well. Joint planning sessions are scheduled to align a detailed plan covering scope, dependencies, resourcing, and stakeholder engagement. The exit programme is structured around three workstreams: People, Contracts & Commercial, and Operations. Governance arrangements have been confirmed with representation from all councils. Fabio Negro discussed the potential impact on savings, noting that while some procurement benefits might be affected, there may still be opportunities for economies of scale through joint procurement.

Financial and Procurement Updates

The committee noted that STS is on track to meet its savings targets for the financial year. Procurement updates highlighted significant savings achieved through various initiatives, including:

• Printing Services: Over £400,000 saved through negotiations on Multi-Functional Device (MFD) elements.
• Telecoms Expense Management Service (TEMS): Approximately £50,000 saved.
• Ivanti (User Workspace Manager): A saving of £140,000 realised through dispute resolution.
• Email Filtering Contract Transition: A saving of £268,000 by replacing ProofPoint with Fortra.
• AutoCAD Contract Renewal: A saving of £15,000 for Southwark.
• Backup Solution & Storage: Cost efficiencies achieved through consolidation.

Upcoming contract renewals in 2026 were also detailed, with significant expenditure anticipated, particularly for Microsoft Azure and Mobile Voice & Data.

Council Updates

Updates were provided on digital modernisation efforts in Brent, Lewisham, and Southwark, covering website improvements, infrastructure upgrades, cybersecurity enhancements, and the rollout of new technologies. Brent has completed its laptop rollout and is progressing with its data platform modernisation. Lewisham has improved its housing portal and bulky waste collection services. Southwark is focusing on its partnership with STS, expanding infrastructure, and enhancing cybersecurity, with a significant focus on Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The meeting also noted the passing of Tim Green, Head of Technology and Strategy, and Frank Lee, Cyber Security Analyst, expressing condolences to their families and colleagues.