The Chief Executive of the States of Guernsey says significant progress has been made in reforming the public sector over the past year.
The bold claim for Paul Whitford comes as he sets out a 16-point masterplan for further changes in his inaugural annual report.
The report provides detailed progress on public service reform, which is a 10-year framework of transformation endorsed by the States of Deliberation in September 2015.
During 2017 and the early part of this year, public service reform work has focused on eight programmes. The report highlights areas of substantial change as a result of those areas of work, but also sets out the priorities for public service reform during the remainder of 2018 and into 2019-20.
Public service reform improvements during 2017/18 include:
- The move to a combined counter service at Edward T Wheadon House, meaning customers who want to use counter services only need to go to one place for all of their transactions
- Completion of the first part of the property rationalisation programme – exiting Cornet Street and Grange Road House, on time and on budget and with minimal impact on customer service
- Put in place a programme to support the Health and Social Care Partnership of Purpose endorsed by the States of Deliberation in December 2017 – demonstrating that government priorities and organisational improvement and change work hand-in-hand
- Moved to the next stage of providing a single revenue service, collecting social security contributions and income tax
- Increased flexibility for customers through the use of online services – even more services can be done at any time, from anywhere, through our secure gov.gg website
Paul Whitfield said: “This update details headline achievements over the last 18 months and prioritised objectives over the next 12. What it can’t convey easily is the tangible difference to the culture and ethos of Guernsey’s public sector. We have momentum and, while public service reform remains a long-term commitment, during the last 18 months we have seen that it is also very much the here and now in terms of how government operates.”
“The States of Guernsey is by far the largest employer in the Bailiwick and covers a hugely diverse range of service delivery. There is not one single solution to future proofing our public services. Ensuring we have an organisation fit for the future can only be achieved by real transformational change in the way we provide services. This means benefiting from and taking full advantage of new technologies, proactively using data and information and by challenging our processes, our decision-making and our leadership. While it’s important to remain realistic, we are very much heading in the right direction.
The report also outlines the 16 priority outcomes set by Mr Whitfield for 2018. They include:
- Strong and visible foundations to be laid for the Partnership of Purpose
- The procurement phase of the Future Digital Services project will have been successfully concluded and a delivery model has been selected.
- The new income support scheme will have been launched successfully
- Two new or improved digital services will have been launched
- Health and care services ICT will be improved by taking advantage of the opportunities presented by the upgrade to the ICT infrastructure.
