East Cambs Council has admitted there are “real risks” to the authority following the departure on December 31 of its IT manager.

Andy Radford, director of resources, says that ensuring the council has access to the right skills is critical.

He said the departure of the IT manager “has created a gap that which will need to be filled quickly.

“Officers are sourcing potential candidates and an update on the position will be given verbally at the transformation programme sub committee on January 10”.

Mr Radford said: “In the absence of an ICT manager, there are real risks that there is insufficient leadership and management in the ICT team.

“Recruiting an ICT manager, with the broad set of leadership and programme management skills sought (the role is to be redefined as a business change manager) is the priority.”

His report comes as the council is facing criticism for changes to the planning system that have left hundreds of documents inaccessible on internet.

A new web application went ‘live’ in December but Mr Radford says there have been a number of issues that have affected access to documents on the council’s website.

“These are being resolved but some issues remain outstanding,” he says. They will “continue to be prioritised as the most urgent tasks to be resolved.”

Mr Radford added “It is suggested that a key role of the new ICT manager will be to identify the needs of the ICT team and structure to meet those needs.”

His comments on IT are part of an update to councillors on a massive switch by the council to E technologies which includes areas such as payments to the council, telephone contact, website development and internal communications.

Among expenditure to be approved by councillors includes £60,000 for a new HR/payroll system and “changing the look and feel of the intranet” will cost a further £15,000.