Issue - meetings

To receive an update on the County Councils joint venture agency Connect2Hampshire.

The Employment in Hampshire County Council (EHCC) Committee considered a report of the Director of Corporate Resources regarding the County Councils joint venture agency, Connect2Hampshire (C2H). Members heard that the joint venture had been created two years ago in order to enable the council to better manage supply of agency workers.

The report highlighted that the provider of IT services to C2H experienced a significant cyber attack in April 2020. There was no loss of personal data, however the agency had to operate without many key systems for several months. The pandemic also impacted the agency, with demand up in some areas such as agency workers in social care, but below expectations in other areas of business as a result of the lockdowns.

While it was difficult to quantify improvement in the quality of the temporary workforce as a result of the venture, feedback suggested recruiting officers had greater confidence in the quality of candidates being sourced. There was also a small estimated profit share that would be received by the County Council.

Members asked questions for clarification. It was confirmed that social care agency staff were only placed with one care home, not working across locations, to minimise risk.

RESOLVED:

The EHCC Committee note the challenges faced by Connect2Hampshire during 2020/21, and its performance during this period in relation to the provision of temporary agency workforce to the County Council.