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STATES OF JERSEY
WORKING PARTY TO REVIEW APPROPRIATENESS OF DEPARTMENTAL STRUCTURE (P.49/2008): COMMENTS
Presented to the States on 28th April 2008 by the Council of Ministers
STATES GREFFE
COMMENTS
States Members will be aware that the Comptroller and Auditor General is currently conducting the States' Spending Review, which will include a review of the appropriateness of the States of Jersey departmental structures. It is hard to envisage that there would not be substantial overlap with his review and any working party formed under this proposition. Therefore, the Council of Ministers invites Members to consider rejecting this Proposition, at least until publication of the Comptroller and Auditor General's Report.
If Members are minded to establish a further working party, then the appropriate body to bring this forward would be the Public Accounts Committee (rather than the Privileges and Procedures Committee) which could undertake the work as part of its overall programme.
It is difficult to envisage that there will not be substantial extra costs involved. The Proposition calls for the working party to be "assisted by professionals expert in the particular structure being analysed." It is difficult to reconcile this statement with the assertion that: "there will be no additional financial, manpower or resource implications".
The Deputy 's conjecture that such professionals would be persuaded to work pro bono appears rather optimistic given the level of expertise required. Furthermore, whilst the secondment of existing officers may provide a useful training opportunity, such practice should not be considered a cost-free solution; such officers' regular workload would still have to be met by their departments.
The Council of Ministers has sympathies with the intention of this Proposition and is committed to ensuring the highest attainable efficiency in the States of Jersey. However, it does not believe that a working party operating parallel to the Comptroller and Auditor General's spending review is the most appropriate or efficient way of bringing this about.