Information about IMPY, Senior Leadership tenure and highways performance measures

1.IMPY

The total cost incurred by Lincolnshire County Council to design, develop, implement, and launch the 'IMPY' AI chatbot, including (but not limited to):

(1a) Software development

(1b) Licensing fees

(1c) External consultancy or contractor costs

(1d) Internal staffing costs (if recorded)

(1e) Testing, deployment, and marketing

(1f) Ongoing maintenance or subscription fees (if applicable)

(1g) Any separate budget allocations or project codes used for the IMPY chatbot project.

(1h) The date the project began and the official launch date of the IMPY chatbot.

(1i) If possible, please provide the information broken down by financial year.

2. Senior Leadership Tenure

For every senior officer listed on Lincolnshire County Council's published Chief Council Officers / Corporate Leadership Team, including but not limited to:

(2a) Debbie Barnes OBE - Chief Executive

(2b) Andrew Crookham - Deputy Chief Executive / Executive Director of Resources / Section 151 Officer

(2c) Martin Samuels - Executive Director for Adult Care & Community Wellbeing

(2d) Andy Gutherson - Executive Director for Place

(2e) Heather Sandy - Executive Director for Children's Services

(2f) Mark Baxter - Chief Fire Officer

(2g) Will Bell - Chief Legal Officer / Monitoring Officer

For ALL of these directors, please provide:

a) Date of appointment to their current post

b) Length of service in that post (to date)

c) Whether the role is fixed-term or permanent

d) Whether the council holds performance review documents, and if so, please provide copies for the past 5 years (redactions accepted)

3. Recruitment and Appointment Process

Please provide:

(3a) The council's policy or guidance documents that describe the recruitment, appointment, and performance review process for senior officers (Directors / Executive Directors)

(3b) Any governance or HR documents describing how leadership performance is monitored or reviewed annually

4. Highways Performance Measures

Please provide:

(4a) The KPIs or performance metrics used to measure Lincolnshire's highway network condition over the past 10 years (e.g., road surface condition, maintenance backlogs)

(4b) The annual performance results for these metrics for each of the past 10 financial years

(4c) Any audit reports, external assessments, or reviews of the highways service during the same period

5. Leadership Tenure vs. Highways Outcomes

Please provide:

(5a) Any internal reports, reviews, assessments, or briefings held by the council that link senior leadership performance (Executive Director for Place, Highways Director) to highways network condition or service outcomes.

6. Budget Context

Please provide:

(6a) The annual highways maintenance budget for each of the past 10 years

(6b) Any budget changes, cuts, or reallocations affecting highways maintenance in that period

1.

Licensing fees - £3691.20 per year (currently).

External consultancy or contractor costs - None, internal resources used.

Internal staffing costs (if recorded) - not recorded

Testing, deployment, and marketing -Testing was performed by the transformation team within Lincolnshire County Council.

Ongoing maintenance or subscription fees (if applicable) – Not applicable, all covered by licensing fees.

Any separate budget allocations or project codes used for the IMPY chatbot project. – All costs are covered by the IT budget.

The date the project began and the official launch date of the IMPY chatbot. –

• Project began: December 2024
• Launch Date 1st October 2025
• Project Closure: November 2025

If possible, please provide the information broken down by financial year - All discovery and work took place between the begin and closure date.

2.  

a) Date of appointment to their current post

NB. Debbie Barnes is due to retire from the council at the end of this financial year. Andrew Crookham is the incoming Chief Executive and Heather Sandy has now been appointed as Deputy Chief Executive.

b) Length of service in that post (to date)

c) Please refer to the Pay Policy Statement, which is here: https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/employment-policies/pay-policy-statement/4

Additionally, please see below the link to the Performance and Development Appraisal Policy which outlines the process and procedure surrounding Appraisals: https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/employment-policies/performance-development-appraisal-policy

3.

a. Please refer to the link, in particular Sections 2, 3 and 4: https://lincolnshire.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=650&MId=9572&Ver=4&Info=1

and also link: https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/employment-policies/recruitment-induction

b. Please refer to Lincolnshire County Council Performance and Development Appraisal Policy, here: https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/employment-policies/performance-development-appraisal-policy

Please refer to our Pay Policy Statement, here: https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/employment-policies/pay-policy-statement/1

4.

Lincolnshire County Council current performance indicator document can be found here: https://professionals.lincolnshire.gov.uk/highways-annual-performance-measures and specifically Alliance KPI1, Client PI9, HWTC PI2, PI3, PI4, PI6. This contract has been in place since April 2020.

Lincolnshire County Council performance data is also available through the corporate dashboard where condition is measured against other authorities : https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiNjIwZDA1YzMtZTJkNC00MjQzLTk5NzQtNmU5ZGExMGQxYjMyIiwidCI6ImI0ZTA1YjkyLWY4Y2UtNDZiNS05YjI0LTk5YmE1YzExZTVlOSJ9

Lincolnshire County Council have a transparency report that’s is available to view: https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/maintenance/local-highways-maintenance-transparency-report

Lincolnshire County Council data is included in the  DFT National Condition measures: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/road-conditions-in-england-to-march-2025/road-conditions-in-england-to-march-2025

5. Lincolnshire County Council performance data is reported quarterly at the Highways and Transport Scrutiny Committee which includes published reports which are easily accessible: https://lincolnshire.moderngov.co.uk/mgCommitteeDetails.aspx?ID=492

6. Please see attached the budget figures (revenue and capital) from 2017/2018 to the yet to be confirmed, 2026/2027. 

Should you require the attachments mentioned above please contact customerinformationservice@lincolnshire.gov.uk with the below reference number and this can be provided.