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2.13 The Deputy of St. Mary of the Chief Minister regarding the provision of organisational charts of departments:
Will all Members be provided with organisational charts of departments together with the ability to see what the post-holders are doing and, if so, when?
Senator T.A. Le Sueur (The Chief Minister):
Earlier this year, I replied to a question from Deputy Le Claire of St. Helier on this particular subject. I advised then that, in each department's business plan for 2010, which is published on the States website
The Deputy Bailiff :
I am sorry, Chief Minister, I am going to have to interrupt you. We are currently inquorate. I invite Members to return to the Assembly room as quickly as possible in order that we can be quorate. Very well, Greffier, can we please call the roll?
The roll was called
The Deputy Bailiff :
Now, Chief Minister, I am afraid you will have to start your answer again. Senator T.A. Le Sueur :
Yes, Sir. Thankfully, it is a short answer, anyway, but earlier this year I had replied to a question from Deputy Le Claire on this particular request. I advised then that in each department's business plan for 2010, which is published on the States website, gov.je, there is an organisational chart, a breakdown of staffing by division with a
description of work done for each division. They also contain departmental budget and work programmes which set out performance indicators and targets. On that basis, the information is available in the public domain for any Member who wishes to find out.
The Deputy St. Mary :
Yes, Sir. Being an independent informant, I have not checked this personally myself but I have been told that, in fact, this information is not there in the form that the
Chief Minister says, but I will check it myself and, no doubt, ask another question if it
is not so.
Deputy P.V.F. Le Claire:
Sorry, Sir, may I ask a supplementary, please? The Deputy Bailiff :
Yes, I am so sorry.
2.13.1 Deputy P.V.F. Le Claire:
The answer that the Chief Minister gave related to my question earlier this year and also to the fact that many questions by Ministers were encouraged to be similar from the Chief Minister in as much as the context would be time-consuming and non- productive. Having had the time to look at these answers, I have had great difficulty in finding where it is that the Chief Minister is referring to these graphs and charts. Would it not be better for us all, and the public at large, to hold this Assembly to account and the Government to account? If one flow chart of hierarchical structure was available for everybody to see in one place, surely it cannot be that great a task and surely, out of the 6,700 employees that we have, we could get one of them to do that.
Senator T.A. Le Sueur :
I really do not think that, at a time when we are trying to save a significant amount of public money, we should be resorting to detailed activities of the sort suggested by the Deputy . If Members do not like what is on the website, there is a hard copy of the business plan available if they go and see the departments but, realistically, the information is available. The question from Deputy Le Claire I think was intended to be very helpful in that he was pointing us to ways in which, as Ministers, we might be able to find ways of saving money and, on that basis, I can reassure the Deputy that we are aware of the contents of the business plans and we are taking them into account in our plans for making the spending reductions that he is, I think, trying to facilitate.