Letter - Public Accounts Committee to Chief Executive re. Use of Consultants - 1 March 2021

States Greffe

Chief Executive BY EMAIL

1 March 2020

Dear Chief Executive,

Use of Consultants

Please find a series of questions relating to the January 2021 report on the Use of Consultants (R.13/2021) to which the PAC would be grateful for a response by 12 noon on Monday 8 March 2021.

Questions to the Chief Executive following the Chief Ministers' Report on the Use of Consultants (January 2021)

1. What action plans and similar items have been developed for delivering permanent and fixed-term positions currently assigned to contracts and interim arrangements for when the Covid-19 recovery commences?
2. What work has been undertaken to wind down' these contracts towards the end of the pandemic?
3. The Chief Minister notes that "Due to a lack of experience in the Island, and the roles being temporary in nature, the best support for these roles (presumably backfill roles to core staff) was through the use of contractors. What work is being undertaken to train staff to allow them to develop the required skills necessary to confront future crises without needing to resort to contractors or consultants?

a.  What long-term projects are underway to identify where greater access to training and educational opportunities will be needed to allow for more in- house work on specific issues in order to reduce external hires?

4. How is work on the delivery of an integrated payroll, procurement and accounts payable system being tracked to ensure that it is being delivered within the provided timeframe?

a.  How do you track whether a consultant has been procured through a tender or quotes selection process, such as through a centralised spreadsheet?

5. What work is being undertaken to deliver a common definition of a Structural Needs Assessment across each department? If no work is being undertaken on this, why not?

a.  How are the differences between SNAs in different departments monitored? How do you ensure that SNAs are able to demonstrate clear needs that reflect the organisation?

6. What is the average (median) daily rate of consultants? What is the highest rate and what percentage of consultants are on this rate?
7. What effect has Covid-19 had on the hiring and use of consultants from outside the Island and those requiring regular travel?
8. What accommodation arrangements were made with contractors to allow them to work on-Island during the pandemic?
9. How is the efficiency and work rate of these contractors tracked?

1. How many consultants from across the organisation have left before completing their planned work programme?
2. How many have been retained to complete additional work?

10. Which of the fixed-term roles that carry a salary above Service Grade 15.4 can we expect to be moved into a permanent, full-time employment contract?

a.  What work has been conducted on identifying and recruiting successors for the roles that expire this year?

11. What individual assessments are being undertaken to assess the value for money of particularly high-value consultants, such as that provided by EY for the Efficiencies Programme?

1. What work is being undertaken to make high-cost consultations permanent, in-house roles?
2. What analysis is undertaken before contracts are renewed? Are any areas of this independent?
3. Why are some post-consultation analyses marked as n/a?
4. Why have some contracts, such as L1 Management Ltd.'s work on Programme Management for IHE, been renewed despite the work being marked as completed'?

Yours sincerely,

Deputy Inna Gardiner , Chair, Public Accounts Committee