Report - Public Accounts Committee Legacy Report 2018-2022 - 5 May 2022

8-2022

 Report:

counts Committee

5th May 2022 P.A.C.4/2022

Contents

Chair's Foreword ................................................................................................................ 5

1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 7 Terms of Reference ........................................................................................................... 7 Context .............................................................................................................................. 7 Executive Responses and Comments Papers ................................................................... 7 Revised Code of Practice .................................................................................................. 8 Chief Executive Officer/Head of Public Service/Principal Accountable Officer ................... 8 Purpose of Legacy Report ................................................................................................. 9
2. PAC Work June 2018- October 2020 ............................................................................ 11 Meetings and Hearings .................................................................................................... 11 Summary Table of PAC Reviews 2018-October 2020 ..................................................... 11 Engagement with External Auditors and Risk and Audit Committee ................................ 12 Following Up C&AG Work ............................................................................................... 12 Recurring Themes ........................................................................................................... 13 Recommendations Tracker.............................................................................................. 13 Estate Management ........................................................................................................ 13 PAC Workshop ................................................................................................................ 14
3. PAC work undertaken November 2020 - May 2022 ..................................................... 15 Emerging Themes ........................................................................................................... 15 PAC Lay' Members' Code of Conduct............................................................................. 15 Internal Audit Protocol ..................................................................................................... 15 PAC Performance and Training ....................................................................................... 16 Gathering Evidence ......................................................................................................... 16 Meetings and Hearings .................................................................................................... 17 IT Strategy ....................................................................................................................... 19 Bellozanne Sewage Waste Treatment ............................................................................. 19 PAC Reviews .................................................................................................................. 20 Summary Table of PAC Reviews November 2020 – May 2022 ....................................... 20 States Annual Report and Accounts (2021) ..................................................................... 21 Estate Management Follow Up ........................................................................................ 21 Following Up C&AG 2021 Work....................................................................................... 21 The Recommendations Tracker....................................................................................... 23
4. Roadmap – Suggestions for future PAC ..................................................................... 26 Suggestions for Follow Up Reviews ................................................................................ 26 Performance Management .............................................................................................. 26 States Employment Board ............................................................................................... 29

Anti-Corruption Arrangements ......................................................................................... 30 Estate Management ........................................................................................................ 30 Arms-Length Bodies/Organisations ................................................................................. 31 Bellozanne Sewage Waste Treatment Project ................................................................. 32 Government Response to Covid-19 ................................................................................. 32 Citizens' Panels, Assemblies and Juries.......................................................................... 32 C&AG Work Programme ................................................................................................. 33 C&AG's Work Programme 2022 ...................................................................................... 34 Suggested PAC Follow-Up to C&AG work ....................................................................... 34 Governance of Health and Social Care............................................................................ 34 CAMHS ........................................................................................................................... 35 Long Term Care Fund ..................................................................................................... 35 Other Review Topics ....................................................................................................... 36 Final Observations........................................................................................................... 36

5. Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 38 Appendix 1 ........................................................................................................................ 39 Public Accounts Committee Membership 2018-2022....................................................... 39 Appendix 2 ........................................................................................................................ 41 List of Meetings of the Public Accounts Committee 2018-2022........................................ 41

Appendix 3 ........................................................................................................................ 42 List of PAC Public and Quarterly Hearings 2018-2022 .................................................... 42 Appendix 4 ........................................................................................................................ 45 Summaries of PAC Reviews 2020-2022 .......................................................................... 45 PAC Review of the States Annual Report and Accounts 2020 ................................. 45 Spend Local Scheme .............................................................................................. 51 Citizens' Panels, Assemblies and Juries.................................................................. 53 Performance Management ...................................................................................... 60 Government's Response to Covid-19 ...................................................................... 65 Appendix 5 ........................................................................................................................ 71 Summary of Estate Management Reviews Undertaken by PAC 2018-2022 .................... 71 Appendix 6 ........................................................................................................................ 78

Internal Audit Protocol ..................................................................................................... 78 Appendix 7 ........................................................................................................................ 80 Performance of the PAC .................................................................................................. 80 Appendix 8 ........................................................................................................................ 87 Recommendations Trackers ............................................................................................ 87

Chair's Foreword

The Public Accounts Committee has worked extremely hard during this term of office, and I would like to start by thanking Committee  members  and  States  Greffe  officers  for  their professionalism and dedication throughout. I am particularly grateful to my Vice-Chair for leading our Covid-19 review and to  Senator  Vallois  for  working  closely  with  me  on  the Performance  Management  review.  I  am  also  grateful  to Senator Sarah Ferguson, the former Chair of the Committee, for providing me with an excellent handover and support during my time as Chair.

My  thanks  also  extends  to  the  Comptroller  and  Auditor General  (C&AG  -  Lynn  Pamment)  and  the   Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General (Stephen Warr en) for their contribution to the work of the Committee and for the strong and constructive relationship we have formed.

The PAC's role differs slightly to that of scrutiny as it receives reports from the C&AG and reports to the States any significant issues arising. It also assesses whether public funds have been applied for the purpose intended, which has been a key area for the Committee during this term.

The Committee has seen a number of significant changes during this term of office including two PAC's, two C&AG's, three Chief Executive Officers and three External Auditors. Despite these changes and challenges presented by Brexit and Covid-19, the Committee has kept on track and has produced high quality output which is evidenced in this legacy report.

The Committee adapted effectively to change initiated by Covid-19 in terms of online and remote working, with our first remote meeting taking place as early as March 2020 and our first online Public Hearing in May 2020.

We have provided this legacy report as a reference point for the next PAC to consider. The report briefly summarises the work undertaken by the Committee during 2018 - 2022 with a particular focus on work carried out between November 2020 – May 2022 (a full list of meetings, hearings and briefings can be found in Appendix 4).

It provides an overview and timeline of the PAC's review of the key decisions that have been made by the Chief Executive(s), the Treasurer of the States and other members of the Senior Executive  Leadership  Team,  as  well  as  States-owned  bodies  such  as  Arms-Length Organisations (ALOs).  

We  have  summarised  our  key  findings  and  recommendations  associated  with  specific targeted evaluations carried out over the Committee's term of office, including reviews on Estate Management, Performance Management, and the Government's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. We would encourage the next PAC to monitor our recommendations, particularly as a large number of them are yet to be implemented.

We have tackled some big topics over the last 4 years and if our recommendations are implemented, we believe that the Government administration will become more effective, and Islanders will see value for money in the areas invested in by Government. This will be particularly important in the future as the Government has expanded its personnel since the public service reforms were implemented in 2018 (OneGov).

We  have  found  that  management  responsibilities,  decision  making  processes,  ultimate authority, and ability to veto decisions remains poorly documented within Government in some of the areas we have examined, including health, property management and procurement. In that regard, we have identified a number of topics which require further attention and focus of the next PAC including Health and Community Services and procurement, people services and the States Employment Board and Information Services and other capital projects.

Another matter  which may  require  further  focus  is  OneGov  and  the  recently  approved proposition by Deputy John Young which requests a review of ministerial portfolios and a move back to one Minister having overall accountability of a department. In one of our most recent reviews on Performance Management, we commented on OneGov and the significant change this had on our Government administration. We anticipate that PAC will play a further role in reviewing the changes which may be initiated by Deputy Young's proposition during the next term.

In terms of the internal workings of the Committee, I became a member of the Executive Committee of Commonwealth Association of Public Accounts Committees (CAPAC) which aims to ensure that all Commonwealth parliaments and their citizens benefit from strong and independent PAC scrutiny in order to sustain and promote the highest principles of public finance and value for money. My time as a member of CAPAC Executive Committee provided the Committee with opportunities to share resources, benchmarking in terms of best practice and have access to training. This was an invaluable experience for me and other Committee Members, and I would encourage the next Chair of PAC to continue the membership.

I would like to finish by thanking PAC and the Government for the collaborative approach and the openness and integrity I have experienced as Chair of PAC. We have worked effectively alongside our unelected members of the Committee, and I am sincerely grateful to them for giving up their time and providing valuable insights during our demanding workload. It is a testament to the hard work and dedication of all involved that PAC has continued to function and produce reports throughout what has been a particularly difficult two-year period with the pandemic. May the hard work and dedication continue into the next term.

Deputy Inna Gardiner

Chair

Public Accounts Committee

1. Introduction

Terms of Reference

The Public Accounts Committee's (PAC) Terms of Reference are found under Standing Order 132, of the Standing Orders of the States of Jersey. The majority of the Committee's work is based on considering audits and reports undertaken by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), and reporting to the States Assembly on any significant issues arising from those reports. It also receives reports from the C&AG investigating the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness and/or corporate governance arrangements of various States-run bodies and assesses:

1. whether public funds have been applied for the purpose intended by the States; and
2. whether extravagance and waste are being eradicated and sound financial practices applied throughout the administrations of the States.

In developing a balanced programme of Review topics, PAC will ordinarily prioritise the consideration of reports presented to the States by the C&AG. In practice, this means that between 70-80% of the PAC's workload is following up of the C&AG's work, however, under Standing Order 132(1)(c) of the Standing Orders of the States of Jersey, the Committee can, and does, select its own review topics. The 20-30% capacity left for PAC translates to approximately 2 to 3 reviews per year, excluding an (annual) review of the States' Annual Report and Accounts.

Context

Unlike other Scrutiny Panels, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) does not scrutinise the formulating of policy nor hold Ministers to account. Instead, it holds to account senior officers such as:

• The Chief Executive Officer - to account for his/her duty to implement the policies approved by the States Assembly

• The Treasurer of the States – who has responsibilities which extend beyond those of an Accountable Officer

• Other Accountable Officers – not just Directors-General of departments but also Accountable Officers for Non-Ministerial Departments such as the States and Judicial Greffe(s) and the Bailiff 's Office.

Executive Responses and Comments Papers

To  aid  its  function  as  described  in  the  preceding  paragraphs,  and  in  accordance  with paragraphs 64-66 of P.56/2018, the Code of Practice for engagement between Scrutiny Panels and the Public Accounts Committee' and the Executive' (February 2018),[1] the Public Accounts Committee requests a formal Executive Response to all C&AG and PAC Reports, from the Chief Executive Officer, the relevant Director(s) General/Accounting Officer(s), within six weeks of their presentation to the States Assembly and subsequent publication.

The deadline for the requested response is specified in the correspondence. The PAC presents the Executive Response to the States Assembly on the Government Officers' behalf. It then determines whether to commence a follow-up Review of the topic addressed. In the unlikely event that one or more responses are not received within the deadline set, the PAC may invoke an escalation procedure and/or commence a follow-up Review of the topic addressed in the C&AG's report.

The Executive Responses requested of the Chief Executive Officer and the Treasurer of the States usually include input from the Director General and/or Accountable or Senior Officers of the relevant States' body (including, where appropriate, a States Owned Entity).

An Executive Response should include information on which recommendations of the report have been accepted, which have been rejected (and why), together with an action plan and target dates for a named responsible officer to implement the agreed recommendations. The PAC presents the formal Executive Response to the States Assembly with or without its own comments. It will usually only follow up with comments when it requires further clarification on the Executive Response and/or is seeking further evidence.

Revised Code of Practice

The PAC was pleased to note that the revised Code of Practice[2] for engagement between Scrutiny Panels and the PAC' and the Executive' was debated and approved on 25 April 2022, including an amendment placing the onus on Ministers, Chief and Accounting Officers obliged to provide quarterly updates on the implementation of recommendations made by the C&AG, Scrutiny and the PAC. It also noted the last minute comments made by the Council of Ministers on 21 April 2022, which sought to limit fully minuted discussions of the Council of Ministers being made available to Scrutiny Panels, on the basis that this would likely be detrimental to full and frank discussions at Ministerial level.

Since the adoption of P.56/2018 (Code of Practice for Engagement between Scrutiny Panels and the Public Accounts Committee' and the Executive'), by the States, there was a growing consensus that favoured reducing the number of proposed Protocols and Codes. The latest proposition sought to update the code in 3 areas: the change of name from Chairmans' Committee' to Scrutiny Liaison Committee', practical measures to better reflect the arrangements of exchanging information via digital platforms and accessing Ministerial Decisions by Scrutiny. The obligations between PAC and Government Officers remain the same.

Chief Executive Officer/Head of Public Service/Principal Accountable Officer

Under the Public Finance (Jersey Law) 2019, the Chief Executive Officer of the Council of Ministers is the Principal Accountable Officer[3] and as such is answerable to the States of Jersey and accountable to the Council of Ministers for the exercise of the functions of the office. Although the Principal Accountable Officer[4] is not responsible for making policy decisions (this responsibility lies with the Government of Jersey, Council of Ministers and Ministers), he or she is accountable for the implementation of policy with due regard for the need to achieve value for money and good governance.

The Principal Accountable Officer is personally responsible for ensuring that systems are in place to ensure the States is administered efficiently and effectively, and for ensuring that reports to the States Assembly are accurate, meaningful and do not mislead. He or she can be called before the Public Accounts Committee to justify why a particular course of action was taken, or not taken. Initiatives and activities should be assessed as to whether they meet the four essential standards of:

• Proprietary

• Regularity

• Value for money

• Feasibility[5]

and should be able to describe how they contribute to strategic outcomes and departmental objectives over time and how they will measure progress made and or service performance in alignment with the Jersey Standard for Performance Management and Business Planning.

The Principal Accountable Officer must ensure that there are procedures in place to ensure proper control and assurance frameworks exist throughout the States. In addition, the Principal Accountable Officer should apply the overarching test of: "Could this course of action be satisfactorily defended in public?" The  Nolan Principles[6] of public life are of particular importance to the proper performance of the role:

• Selflessness

• Integrity

• Objectivity

• Accountability

• Openness

• Honesty

• Leadership

Purpose of Legacy Report

Usually, Scrutiny Panels and the Public Accounts Committee select and appoint their Chair and members in the States Assembly shortly after the election of a Government to serve a four-year term until the next election. However, following the announcement of Senator Sarah Ferguson's decision to resign as Chair of the Public Accounts Committee on 20th October 2020, the Public Accounts Committee reviewed the work it had undertaken since its formation in May 2018 and agreed to provide a Legacy Report 2018-2020 (published 1 December 2020) to its successor Committee under the Chairmanship of Deputy Inna Gardiner . The new PAC also saw many membership changes, including 3 new lay members and a new Vice Chair (Appendix 1 provides full membership details).

This report briefly summarises the 2018-2020 work, but its main focus is the PAC work carried out between November 2020 – May 2022 (a full list of meetings, hearings and briefings is at Appendix 4). It provides an overview and timeline of the PAC's review of the key decisions that have been made by the Chief Executive(s), the Treasurer of the States and other members of the Senior Executive Leadership Team, as well as States-owned bodies such as Arms-Length Organisations (ALOs).

This report also summarises the key findings and recommendations associated with specific targeted evaluations carried out over this time period, including reviews on Estate Management, Performance Management, and the Government's dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. It covers an unprecedented, unsettled period where no fewer than 3 Chief Executives held the post, against the backdrop of a continuing global pandemic. The former Chief Executive, Charlie Parker, resigned his position in November 2020 and an interim Chief Executive Officer, Paul Martin, was appointed in March 2021 until the current Chief Executive Officer, Suzanne Wylie, commenced her permanent post on 1 February 2022.

Documentary and oral evidence obtained from departments and private meetings with senior officers and other relevant bodies, in relation to the implementation of States-approved policy and the use of public finances, has also been collated to assist the next Public Accounts Committee which will be formed following the election of new States Members and the formation of a new Government in June 2022.

The Public Accounts Committee hopes that this report will assist the next Public Accounts Committee elected for the term 2022-2026 in continuing its hard work and establishing a productive work programme.

2. PAC Work June 2018- October 2020

Meetings and Hearings

The Committee undertook Quarterly Public Hearings with the former Chief Executive and Treasurer of the States, and where necessary, other senior members of the Executive. In accordance with the practice agreed by the Scrutiny Liaison Committee (formerly Chairmen's Committee), Public Accounts Committee meetings were also conducted in private session. When undertaking reviews, the Committee secured initial briefings from, and submitted various requests for information to, relevant departments. Hearings were held as necessary to establish or corroborate evidence. These Hearings were generally conducted in public session.

The PAC held private meetings, usually twice a month, including during the  early and lockdown phases of the COVID-19 pandemic from March to September 2020, where the meetings were held via video conference.

Transcripts for the public hearings can be accessed via the States Assembly website and webcasts for the public hearings can be accessed via the States Assembly webcast site. Records of the private meetings and reviews undertaken by the PAC during this period can be accessed via the PAC page on the States Assembly website.

Summary Table of PAC Reviews 2018-October 2020

*Report follows on from previous reporting by of the C&AG States Annual Report and Accounts 2019

The former PAC considered that several factors had the potential to impact adversely on the quality or timeliness of the 2019 Annual Report and Accounts, not only the Covid-19 pandemic, which delayed its presentation to the States Assembly. In 2019, the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) appointed Deloitte LLP who took over from PwC as the new external auditor and it was reasonable to expect that the firm would need more time to familiarise itself with the complex States Accounts.

There had also been extensive restructuring within the Treasury and Exchequer department and the recent introduction of new legislation including the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019 and the Public Finances Manual in 2019, as well as the adoption of a new version of the Jersey Financial Reporting Manual (JFReM) in March 2020.

Engagement with External Auditors and Risk and Audit Committee

The PAC was also aware that the Risk and Audit Committee, which provides oversight, advice, support, and constructive challenge in order to help the Chief Executive and Treasurer of the States (amongst others) to discharge their responsibilities for monitoring and reviewing the Annual Report and Accounts, had been inquorate for several months during 2019.

After completion of the 2019 Audit of the States Annual Report and Accounts by Deloitte the C&AG appointed Mazars as the auditors of the States of Jersey.

Following Up C&AG Work

The Committee was updated on all of the Comptroller and Auditor General's Review Reports between May 2018 and October 2020[7], and requested the Chief Executive and Treasurer of the States and/or relevant Departments for Executive Responses to the recommendations contained therein. It also submitted to the States Assembly its own Comments Papers on several of the Executive Responses to its own reports or those of the C&AGs, in particular where it considered that the Executive Response had been inadequate:

Recurring Themes

The PAC identified recurring themes of concern, and a lack of progress in the Government's implementation of some 400 recommendations of the C&AG:

• Report - Organisational Culture and Corporate Learning – 20 May 2019

• Report – Recurring Themes: Decision Making – 29 July 2019

• Report – PAC Report on Financial Management – 17 February 2020

The issue was taken up by the former Chief Executive Officer and the Chief of Staff who committed  to  a  thorough  review  of  addressing  themes  such as  financial  management, organisational culture, management information, and corporate learning.

Recommendations Tracker

A Recommendations Tracker' was introduced by the Executive in 2019 in response to the PAC's advice that a central monitoring system be established, so that progress made (on the implementation of recommendations by the C&AG and the PAC) could be easily referenced and shared between departments.

Recommendations are monitored by using a Red, Amber (including Amber 1, 2 and 3), and Green system. The Tracker allowed all of the recommendations of the C&AG and the PAC to be tracked through the departments and the senior leadership team of the Executive.

The production of regular progress updates enables the management team to gather a real understanding  about  how  the  recommendations  are  being  implemented  throughout  the departments, to discover what the blockages' are to progress, and to demonstrate this to PAC and other oversight bodies. However, the process is evolving, and the Committee monitors its progress and makes recommendations for improvement of the system later in this report.

Estate Management

At the dissolution of the former PAC on the appointment of the new Chair, on 20th October 2020, the follow-up Estate Management review had reached a critical stage, concluding evidence gathering and commencing the formulation of findings and recommendations on this extremely important topic. The former members remained concerned that money spent on maintaining properties that are of no value, strategic or otherwise, and the sums spent on the estate as a whole, where there is no comprehensive strategy prioritising and maximising their use, did not demonstrate value for money. Considering the numerous delays, they urged the next PAC to continue pressing for clarity on property matters and an Estate Management Strategy.

A full summary is included at Appendix 5 of this Report.

PAC Workshop

In early October 2020, the Committee held a private workshop session to develop the prioritisation of its work programme. This included each Committee Member identifying key themes and areas of work for the Committee, and ways of improving its delivery. Although this PAC fell' on the appointment of the new Chair on 20th October 2020, the Committee agreed it should summarise its findings, to assist the new Committee in working collaboratively as a team.

3. PAC work undertaken November 2020 - May 2022

Emerging Themes

The new PAC, chaired by Deputy Gardiner , agreed on a series of key themes that it deemed important to its work:

• Decision-Making;

• Transparency (for both the PAC and from Government);

• Performance;

• Government Efficiency; and

• Complaints (both by employees and the wider public).

These themes would form the framework of any review undertaken and could be used as a checklist against future question plans. Better communication with the public, Government and stakeholders was also raised as important, in order to obtain a greater diversity and better quality of evidence during PAC reviews. In particular, it resolved to give more direction to Government about the timeliness, clarity, and brevity of submissions from the Government to ensure that Government  is better  able to  demonstrate  tracking  delivery  of  its  previous promises.

The  Committee  further  agreed  that,  where  possible, meetings  with  each  Director- General should be arranged, commencing 2021, to discuss their work and understand how they implemented the States' policy into practice. This would factor into the Committee's remit of understanding the efficacy of government – including the effectiveness of cost-savings processes, budget building, and efficiencies.

The PAC also agreed that any report or hearing should include transparency of process and the opportunity for public engagement and regular follow-ups to check progress.

PAC Lay' Members' Code of Conduct

In appointing new lay' (i.e. non-States Members) to the Committee, the Committee agreed to establish, and ask newly appointed lay members to adhere to, a Code of Conduct[8], based on Nolan Principles of professional conduct in public life and the Code of Conduct for States Members already enshrined in Standing Order 155 of the States of Jersey.

Internal Audit Protocol

During its term, the PAC became aware that although the C&AG received Internal Audit reports as a matter of course from the Government's Chief Internal Auditor, these were not automatically  shared  with  the  PAC.  Advisory  reports are  copied to  the  C&AG  and  the Government of Jersey's external auditors, but this was not extended to the PAC and the Committee did not want to place responsibility onto those parties for the provision of material supplied by the CIA. It therefore wanted to establish an efficient way to receive them, whilst respecting the independence of the CIA and of course, the C&AG.

The Chair, Vice-Chair and an independent lay member of the PAC held private meetings with the Interim Chief Executive and the Chief Internal Auditor to establish an agreed protocol for the PAC to receive Internal Audit Reports quickly and efficiently, in line with the Code of Practice for Engagement with Scrutiny and Standing Orders. The agreed protocol can be found at Appendix 6 of this Report.

PAC Performance and Training

In order to ensure that the newly formed PAC worked cohesively as a team and performed well, it undertook several training sessions and workshops throughout its term. These included:

• Public hearing question training (facilitated by Attorney General)

• Coaching on team building and working together (facilitated by local coaching organization[9])

• Bespoke questioning techniques and hearing planning for PACs (facilitated by UK based training organization[10])

The PAC identified areas to work on and these areas were explored, prioritised, and turned into clear goals linked to measurable objectives. In order to keep on track and to assess progress, it completed a mid-point review half-way through the coaching programme and a final review at the end.

Particular consideration was given to the use of good practice over best practice, owing to the various ways that institutional, structural, and cultural practices may influence approaches to improving a PAC's performance. The performance table, below, consolidates key themes from the PAC's annual work programme, its Standing Orders, and relevant/common themes from a comparative literature review.[11] Positive outcomes were identified as well as ways to improve, these are listed at Appendix 7.

The table thereby comprises of the following areas:

• Administration of the PAC - the PAC has been continuously supported by at minimum one Committee and Panel Officer and one Research and Project Officer;

• Relationship with the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) and Jersey Audit Office (JAO);

• Awareness of Government Activity;

• Assessment of the Use of Public Funds; and

• External Outreach - the PAC has encouraged public involvement and media coverage through the appointment of lay members, public hearings, and use of traditional and social media outlets. The Committee's Covid-19 review delivered enhanced external outreach which it hopes the next PAC will take further during the next term.

Gathering Evidence

The Committee gathered evidence in a number of ways including:

• receiving updates on the Audit Plans of the C&AG

• Quarterly Public Hearings with the Chief Executive and Treasurer of the States

• public hearings with the Chief of Staff, plus relevant Government officers;

• written views from relevant stakeholders;

• written responses by the Chief Executive and other senior Government officers on a number of topics;

• private briefings from relevant Director-Generals and senior officers;

• formal Executive Responses to C&AG and PAC Report recommendations; and

• updates on the progress of the implementation of the above recommendations via a Recommendations Tracker' produced by the Executive.

Meetings and Hearings

In accordance with the practice agreed by the Scrutiny Liaison Committee (formerly Chairmen's Committee), Public Accounts Committee meetings were conducted in private session. It held private meetings, sometimes more than once a week, including subgroup meetings for its Estate Management follow up, Covid-19 and Performance Management reviews. During the later lockdown phases of the COVID-19 pandemic from November 2020 to May 2022, it held meetings either in person or via video conference, where appropriate.

PAC hold public hearings with all Director Generals, including check of their outstanding Recommendation implementation. We found it helpful and suggest to the next PAC to continue with this practice.

When undertaking reviews, the Committee secured initial briefings from, and submitted various requests for information to, relevant departments. Hearings were held as necessary to establish or corroborate evidence. These Hearings were generally conducted in public.

Interim Chief Executive

The Public Accounts Committee held public hearings with the interim Chief Executive Officer, Paul Martin, throughout his tenure, including his last Quarterly Hearing on 31 January 2022. It recognised that the Government and public services had gone through an enormous period of change, particularly prior to his arrival since 2018 and then through the start of the Covid- 19 pandemic which had presented a set of unique challenges. The main areas of questioning focused on the Government's workforce modernisation, digital projects, and its response to Covid-19, however the PAC also asked Mr. Martin to share his learnings from his relatively short time within the Government and his recommended areas of improvement.

The Interim Chief Executive stated that Jersey is a highly accountable place to work, and it had embraced an agile and hybrid style of working since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. He welcomed the upcoming independent review into how the Government has responded to the pandemic, commenting that "it demonstrates a well-governed Island that is serious about continuous improvement".

Workforce Modernisation

The Interim CEO advised that the most significant progress made over the last year is the development in the capacity and expertise of people in the corporate services division. This led to the publication of the People's Strategy[12], which was published last autumn, which sets out the plan for how to make best use of human resources going forward.

Performance Management

The interim Chief Executive took the Committee through the 5 broad objectives in performance management through Government departments:

• understanding political imperatives and delivering them (such as implementing the Government Plan)

• value for money, efficiency, and effective performance management

• ways of working (including developing trust, confidence, and teamwork within the civil service)

• openness and transparency (including improved relationships with Scrutiny and better responses to FOI requests)

• strategic planning

States Employment Board

The Committee was interested to hear about the interim Chief Executive's suggested changes to the defined roles and responsibilities of his role, particularly in relation to working closer with arms-length bodies (ALOs) and being afforded more delegated authority from the States Employment Board to take on smaller detailed employment matters', leaving the SEB to consider the most significant and strategic issues.

He advised that it had taken a while to appreciate that SEB, the civil service and the Council of Ministers were separate in the way that they work, notwithstanding that his role incorporated being president of the Council of Ministers meetings and attending the States Employment Board. His advice to the incoming Chief Executive would be to note the recommendations of the People and Culture Review by the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel[13] and to ensure "that dialogue was working in the opposite direction back to the States Employment Board (and) appreciate quite how important a more complete holistic relationship is".

The Public Accounts Committee welcomed the interim Chief Executive's acknowledgement that accountability is an essential component of a democratic system and the transparency in his observations of current challenges and areas of the Government which could be improved, such as the States Employment Board (SEB) and performance management.

New Chief Executive

The current Chief Executive of the Government of Jersey, Suzanne Wylie, commenced her permanent post as CEO and Head of the Public Service on 1 February 2022, and the PAC held its first Quarterly hearing with her on 28 March 2022. The PAC put the Interim Chief Executive's observations on priorities to her. She outlined how she seeks to run an efficient public service by listening and engaging to Islanders and harnessing the passion of civil servants for the organisation.

Success Going Forward

The Chief Executive informed the PAC that she agreed with her predecessor, Interim Chief Executive, Paul Martin's assessment that the complexity of Jersey's Government was underestimated at the start of its modernisation process, and that implementing the Target Operating Models (TOMs) has taken too long. Mrs Wylie said that 'people are still tired' from the change which was 'undertaken too quickly', but that the structure had brought coherency. She said she would resolve to engage staff in the reasons for change and what success will look like moving forward. In addition, the PAC heard that:

• The delivery of efficiency savings needs to be revisited

• An accountability framework is needed to underpin the estate management strategy

• A clear target to implement 80% of the Comptroller and Auditor General's and the PAC's recommendations by the end of the year has been set

• Contracts for the new hospital at Overdale will not be signed before the new Council of Ministers come into office (June 2022)

• The number of vacancies to be filled in Health and Community Services is a particular concern, as is resourcing across the Government

• A new technology strategy will be launched before the June election

IT Strategy

The Interim Chief Executive, at his last Quarterly hearing in January 2022,[14] advised that an IT Strategy was in development and was anticipated during to be completed by end of 2022, "on time and within the cost that has been approved by the States Assembly." He outlined some cashable savings' predicted to 2026 of just under £9 million, although he accepted that the overall budget for the digitalisation and modernisation programme was around £66 million. He also advised that further work should be done to gauge from Islanders what they would like in terms of improved public services through digitalisation.

The Chief Operating Officer confirmed that during the first quarter of 2022, the approach to technology would be set out for the next 5-10 years, split into 3 strategies':

1. technology strategy
2. data strategy
3. cyber strategy

He considered the investment in robust and adequate systems would benefit all parts of the public services, including Revenue Jersey.

The Committee heard that it is not yet clear what benefits the Integrated Technology Solution (ITS) programme will have for the public and what a digital strategy for Jersey looks like from a user's perspective. The PAC concurred with Mr. Martin's observations that it would be beneficial for the Government to examine Islander's perspectives, as well as service providers, when improving digital services.

The Treasurer of the States, Richard Bell, who accompanied the Chief Executive, informed the Public Accounts Committee that the first phase of the Integrated Technology Solution (ITS) programme has been delayed until the end of December as there are more key decisions to be made. Having been informed at a previous hearing that it would be implemented in April 2022, the Committee was disappointed by the significant delay in introducing this programme even though it was assured this will not require a budget increase.

The Committee is aware that the C&AG has plans to review IT strategy and agreed it would be prudent for the new PAC to await the outcomes of her reports before turning its attention to this follow-up work.

Bellozanne Sewage Waste Treatment

The PAC, having noted that in October 2021[15]/[16] the Department for Infrastructure, Housing and Environment had terminated its contract with nmcn PLC[17] for the building of a new

Sewage Treatment Works (STW) and had determined to take over the construction contract[18] held a private meeting with the Director General of IHE in November 2021, and followed up with correspondence, to monitor the progress of alternative arrangements.

The evidence provided to the PAC suggested that the department sought a pragmatic and appropriate approach to a difficult situation in order to progress the project in a viable and cost-effective manner and within the bounds of applicable governance procedures.

PAC Reviews

Under Standing Order 132(1)(c) of the Standing Orders of the States of Jersey, the Committee selected a number of review topics. The 20-30% capacity left for PAC after following up work of the C&AG usually translates to approximately 1 to 2 reviews per year, excluding the annual review of the States Annual Report and Accounts.

However, given the unprecedented nature of the past two years, where no fewer than 3 Chief Executives held the post, against the backdrop of a continuing global pandemic, plus the change of Chairmanship and addition of new lay and States members, the Committee considered it necessary to undertake a higher volume of scrutiny work than usual. This included Recall Sessions', a term derived from the UK PAC and used to denote a relatively short, snapshot' review, often with no terms of reference, to explore a single topical issue.

Summary Table of PAC Reviews November 2020 – May 2022

*Report follows on from previous reporting by of the C&AG States Annual Report and Accounts (2021)

The States of Jersey 2021 Annual Report and Accounts were published on 7 April 2022 and provide a breakdown of how public money is spent by the Government of Jersey and an insight into the Government's performance. The PAC noted that the Performance Report arrived at the end of a series of improvements made to performance reporting in 2021, including the introduction of the first year of quarterly reporting and the use of Service Performance Measures. The Committee expect that this information would be used in future Scrutiny reviews and public hearings. It presented a Comments paper on the States Annual Report and Accounts 2021 to the States Assembly on 3rd May 2022.  

Estate Management Follow Up

The Committee updated its terms of reference for its follow up review on Estate Management in November 2020, following the change of Chairmanship of the PAC. Despite it, and the previous Committee having spent a number of years charting progress, or the lack of it, on outstanding issues, the PAC was concerned at the lack of progress and associated timescales given in some responses to the recommendations in its follow up report[19] and the significant slippage in deadlines that had already occurred by April 2022. This was most recently evidenced by the Director General's comments at the PAC's public hearing20 of 7 April 2022.

Despite the PAC requesting21 that it be informed of any delays to the agreed implementation of its Estate Management recommendations, it has not been. The PAC reluctantly concludes that this indicates an ongoing lack of urgency or importance that the Government places on resolving the identified Estate management issues. Of note, the lack of clarity of specific roles and responsibilities along with clear delegations and processes for Estate decision making that ties to value and strategic importance of specific assets remains an area of concern. A full summary of the PAC's work to date on Estate Management can be found at Appendix 5.

Following Up C&AG 2021 Work

The Committee was presented with the performance overview of the C&AG's Office for 2021, as per the diagram below:

The Committee was updated on all of the Comptroller and Auditor General's Review Reports between October 2020 and May 2022[20]. It also received a comprehensive update on the work completed and ongoing. The PAC requested the Chief Executive and Treasurer of the States and/or relevant Departments for Executive Responses to the recommendations contained therein. It also submitted to the States Assembly its own Comments Papers on several of the Executive Responses to reports of the C&AG, in particular where it considered that the Executive Response had been inadequate:

The Recommendations Tracker

The PAC was keen to follow up the Government's progress on tracking and implementing recommendations, following the C&AG's Report entitled Tracking Comptroller and Auditor General Recommendations'[21] which had been presented to the States on 22nd December 2021. The Chief Executive and Chief of Staff's formal Executive Response[22] had accepted all but one of the eight recommendations made by the C&AG, and Recommendation 2 had been partially accepted:

1. A review will be undertaken to assess whether the management and administration of the Tracker resides in the best place which will determine whether additional resources are required.
2. The Government had committed to undertaking a review to assess the benefits of incorporating SMART descriptions of activity into the actions' field on the Tracker (if it is  found that  it  would benefit  the process  of  implementation  without placing an unnecessary burden on staff).
3. Implementation  of agreed  change  and  improvement  recommendations  would  be integrated as a component of the performance management framework for Senior Management, with the delivery and impact of those recommendations to be measured annually through evidence-based performance assessments.
4. The  Government  committed  to  drafting  a  Tracker  Manual'  including  closing recommendation protocols'.
5. It  agreed  to  improve  narrative  explanations  for  delays  to  implementing recommendations and planned timescales within them.
6. The Government confirmed it would include automatic reminders for the departmental owners' to update their recommendations.
7. It committed to a housekeeping exercise' to identify areas where Tracker data can be improved and to ensure that target dates are valid.
8. The Government committed to undertaking a review of current reports formats to identify areas for improvement.

In its Performance Management report,[23] the PAC found that there were ongoing issues with progressing agreed recommendations into actions to completion. These seemed to be based primarily on dependencies and staff shortages.

The Department of the Treasury and Exchequer recently introduced a Key Performance Indicator for the implementation of the recommendations on the Tracker. The Committee welcomed this approach and understood that a target of closing 80% of PAC and C&AG recommendations has been introduced in each Department's Operational Business Plans for 2022.  The  Committee  welcomed  the  inclusion  of  this  target  particularly  as  the  C&AG previously raised concerns that, although recommendations are usually accepted, action to implement them is often slow and many recommendations are yet to be implemented.[24]

The Committee went further by suggesting that the Recommendations Tracker be widened to include recommendations of Scrutiny Panels to assist with implementation but also as a useful follow up tool for Scrutiny in their role as Critical Friend'.

Executive Response

The Executive Response to the PAC's Performance Management report accepted all but Recommendation 15 which related to the Recommendations Tracker.

The Government responded that, following the publication of the C&AG Report on Tracking Recommendations, a workshop took place with the Tracker Working Group, to develop options for clarifying the definition of dependencies and how they are used. The reason for the non-completion  field  was  revised  to  require  more  specificity  for  outlining  why recommendations are off-track. The dependency drop no longer exists as it has been replaced by specific reasons for lack of progress.

It went on to clarify that Meetings with Departmental Senior Leadership Teams are in place on a quarterly basis, to discuss progress with recommendations. This includes issues arising from progress being delayed and allows for better discussion challenge with departments. The Treasury and Exchequer (T&E) Leadership Team meetings deal with recommendations pertaining directly or indirectly to T&E. Any issues relating to progress are reported as part of the regular quarterly update reports to the Operating Committee (OpCo). If dependency issues cannot be resolved adequately at OpCo, they are escalated to the Executive Leadership Team for discussion and resolution. Both the Chief of Staff and the Head of Financial Governance actively monitor recommendation progress on a quarterly basis in advance of issuing an update report. This includes recommendations pending closure and lack of progress.

Recommendation Tracker Updates

Nearing the end of its term in April 2022, the PAC requested of the Chief of Staff and all Government  Departments,  updated  Recommendations  Trackers.  These  are  listed  at Appendix 8. The PAC notes that the States Assembly has now approved Codes of Practice between Scrutiny, the PAC and the Executive (P.50/2022), which requires Chief Officers and Accounting  Officers  to  provide  updates  to  the  PAC  on  progress  against  accepted recommendations on request.

The Committee would recommend that the successor Public Accounts Committee receives regular updates on each Department's implementation of their recommendations and the full implementation of scrutiny recommendations added to the tracker. In terms of the Code of Practice for Engagement between Scrutiny Panels and the PAC, the Committee highlights that  Chief  Officers/Accounting  Officers  should  provide  updates  to  the  Scrutiny  Liaison Committee every quarter on progress in implementing accepted recommendations, including their status on any tracker' that is maintained and the reasons for any delay that may have been incurred in their implementation.

Chief of Staff Quarterly updates

The Committee considers that it would be a good idea to establish regular receipt of all Recommendations Tracker' updates, by way of quarterly hearings with the Chief of Staff, in addition to the update requests from departments.

Evaluation

It notes that although the Government agreed that change and improvement recommendations would be integrated as a component of the performance management framework for Senior Management, with the delivery and impact of those recommendations to be measured annually through evidence-based performance assessments, the earliest date for evaluation was set as 31 March 2023. The Committee believes that this should be an ongoing conversation with Senior Management and that it should be possible to undertake an interim evaluation prior to March 2023.

Delays

The Committee notes that the Executive Response to its review explains that a target to close 80% of recommendations held on the Tracker at the start of 2022 has been included for Departments and at a corporate level. Although the Committee welcomes the inclusion of this target, it stresses the importance of completing specific actions within recommendations in accordance with planned timescales as part of the aim to complete an overall percentage target.

The Committee notes that plans are in place to ensure that there is a clear and concise narrative explanation of the causes and consequences of delay in implementing recommendations that are off-track'. The Committee expects the new PAC would wish to see improved narrative explanations and planned timescales within them, as well as specific enhanced reporting of open' recommendations on the Tracker in line with the points raised by the C&AG.

Recommendations Tracker Manual

The Committee notes that a Tracker Manual is currently being drafted and expects that the next PAC will receive a copy.

It is hoped the new PAC discover what the blockages' are which prevent States departments from addressing the issues, implement necessary changes, or at least establish a clear timetable and milestones against which to measure progress. By continuing with this work, the PAC believe there will be substantial positive changes in implementation of policies and governance.

4. Roadmap – Suggestions for future PAC

One of the important functions of a Legacy Report is to ensure that there is continuity between the end of one PAC and the beginning of the next.

As such, and without being prescriptive about the work that its successor may wish to investigate, the PAC has set out in this section the areas that could usefully be explored by the newly constituted PAC to continue its monitoring of public financing, governance, and accountability.

Suggestions for Follow Up Reviews Performance Management

The Committee believes that there is still work to do in terms of financial reporting within the Treasury and Exchequer in demonstrating and tracking the ongoing running costs of the public services over a number of years and the extent to which the increase in the workforce (and ultimately public spending) is filling in the gaps (i.e. staff shortages). In general, the Committee encourages a much clearer linkage in this reporting between money spent on the Government and the performance of the public service.

Communication

Better  communication  with  the public, Government  and  stakeholders  was also  raised as important, in order to obtain a greater diversity and better quality of evidence during PAC reviews. In particular, the PAC recommends that its successor Committee track and monitor the direction of Government in respect of the timeliness, clarity, and brevity of submissions to demonstrate delivery of its previous promises.

Directors General

The  Committee  further  agreed  that,  where  possible, meetings  with  each  Director- General should  be  arranged,  commencing  September  2022, to  discuss  their  work  and understand  how  they implement  the  States'  policy  into  practice. This  would  factor  into the Committee's  remit  of understanding  the  efficacy  of  government  –  including  the effectiveness of cost-savings processes, budget building, and efficiencies.

Furthermore, any report or hearing should include transparency of process and the opportunity for public engagement and regular follow-ups to check progress. The PAC urges its successor Committee to query the clarity in the 2021 Annual Report and Accounts, showing performance measurements across previous years so that it can be seen whether services have improved or not compared to pre-pandemic levels.

OneGov and TOMs

The Interim Chief Executive explained in January 2022, that the Government will complete a detailed review of the TOM programme before the end of June 2022. This followed a recommendation by the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel in its report People and Culture Review' (S.R.12/2021). The Panel recommended:

There should be a review or report commissioned, and made publicly available, reflecting on the restructuring of the public service to date which includes advice received from third parties to channel the future mandate and the timing of decision making. This should take place by the next Government term.

The Committee anticipates that the next PAC will follow-up on the evaluation process for the OneGov reform programme and TOM rollout.

Executive Response

The  Committee  was  pleased  to  note  that,  in  the  Executive  Response to  the  PAC's Performance  Management  Review,  the  Government  accepted  29  of  the  PAC's  30 recommendations in full and 1 in part and provided detailed action plans to progress their implementation.  However, several  of  the  attachments to the  Executive  Response  were deemed confidential, including:

• Our People Strategy

• CLS opening presentation

• Scheme of Delegation for States Employment Board

• Chief Executive Officer Formal Employment Procedure

• Code of Practice Standards in Public Life

The Committee did not have time to study the confidential drafts in depth, nor was it told when these would be finalised and made public. Furthermore, a number of actions are marked "ongoing" – time-bound actions would be preferable so the Government could be held to account on delivery timely implementation of recommendations. The future PAC may wish to satisfy itself that where items have been marked as complete', they have been processed through  stringent  closure  checks', that  the measurements of  success'  are  consistently applied and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are relevant to all the initiatives/outcomes being implemented.

It expects that its successor Committee will want to chart progress on this and other aspects of the Government's response to its Report in due course, in particular those in the table below:

States Employment Board

The incoming Committee will recall that the performance of the Chief Executive Officer is managed by the Chief Minister, as line manager. The C&AG previously highlighted a number of weaknesses in policies and procedures in relation to the employment of the former Chief Executive,[25]  although  his  last  commissioned  annual  Performance  Report  was  largely complimentary.[26] A Sub-Committee of the Privileges and Procedures Committee (Democratic Accountability and Governance Sub-Committee) also presented a report[27] to the States Assembly in February 2022, recommending several improvements in holding such bodies as the States Employment Board to account.

The States Employment Board (SEB), in its response to the Panel's report, accepted the recommendation and acknowledged that, following any significant organisation change, a review should be undertaken to improve organisational change in the future. The Interim Chief Executive advised the Public Accounts Committee that the scope and terms of the review will be  agreed  with the  SEB  in  February 2022  in order  that an  independent  and  external

organisation be commissioned to conduct the review and report findings within the agreed timeframe[28].

The Government committed to undertaking several actions in order to improve the situation including the development of a Disciplinary Policy and updating the States Employment Board's scheme of delegation to formally document a policy in respect of the line management of the Chief Executive as an employee. The Committee has yet to see these documents and urges its successor to follow this up. It is also worth noting that the C&AG is undertaking an ongoing review of the States Employment Board.

Anti-Corruption Arrangements

The Public Accounts Committee presented the Executive Response to the Comptroller and Auditor General's Report on Anti-Corruption Arrangements18 together with its own comments19 in April 2021. The C&AG's report had focused on the design and operation of the States of Jersey's arrangements to embed a culture of compliance and the arrangement to identify and manage risks of corruption. The PAC was supportive of the C&AG's recommendations to improve the policies and procedures for managing States Members' and States employee's conflicts of interest, procurement breaches and exemptions, and the scrutiny of gifts and hospitality, and the need to review and update the Code of Conduct to include references to policies and procedures for managing the risk of corruption.

Executive Response  

In the Executive Response, the Interim Chief Executive advised that specific, anti-corruption Internal Audit reviews and the recording of offers of gifts and hospitality refused by a States Employee within the Gifts and Hospitality Register had already been captured and completed in resources including the Public Finances Manual. It was also confirmed that a new proposed Code of Practice would be issued by the States Employment Board, with 12 of the 26 Recommendations set for delivery by the end of Q2 2021.

The PAC noted that a paper was expected to be presented to the Privileges and Procedures Committee in June 2021 (by the Greffier of the States) to propose a revised Code of Conduct that included changes to registration requirements, and training. These revisions required the approval of the States Assembly and were debated in March 2022, however the PAC recommends to its successor Committee that it follows up to ensure the new practices were embedded and communicated to Government Officers.

Estate Management

The Committee is all too aware that it and the previous Committee have spent an inordinate amount  of  time  on this  matter.  However, despite  its  best  efforts,  there  remain  several outstanding issues, and the PAC is concerned at the timescales given in some responses to the recommendations in its follow up report[29] and the significant slippage in deadlines that has already occurred this year, as evidenced by the Director General's comments at the PAC's public hearing32 of 7 April 2022. This is despite the PAC requesting33 that it be told at the earliest opportunity that it be informed of any delays to the agreed implementation of its recommendations.

The PAC urges the newly formed Public Accounts Committee to follow up on its work to date, and to request the Chief Executive Officer to address its concerns as a matter of urgency, specifically:

• clarification of the roles and responsibilities of Jersey Property Holdings (central to any delivery of a comprehensive Estate Strategy)

• evidence that the accepted recommendations are implemented and that improved practices are embedded.

• that the Regeneration Steering Group is held to account and monitored/tracked to measure its effectiveness against its new Terms of Reference

• that the State of the Estate' Report is delivered by Q3 2022

• that the SOJDC-commissioned report is received (by Q2 2022) by the PAC, but is not used by the Government as a substitute for an independent evaluation of SOJDC as envisaged in the C&AG's report of 2020.

• that a coherent and objective rationale for the acquisition, disposal, and management of property in the public estate is being undertaken, including clarification of decision- making accountability, authority and processes based on values and strategic

importance of Estate properties.

The PAC concludes that one of the many problems with current Estate Management is that there is no co-ordinated, consistent, or timely approach to establishing and resolving competing property needs so that prioritisation of those needs could subsequently be assessed. There is currently an ad hoc process on first come first served' basis which is supposed to be initiated by the department without prompting by any central body. This process is not understood or followed by all departments as evidenced at length in the PAC's report.

The PAC asks if it is not for CAMB (and therefore the Chair of CAMB) to be the driver in instigating the centralised collation and co-ordination of asset management, then who should have that responsibility? It urges its successor Committee to track resolution of this important item plus to ensure that this essential work of Infrastructure, Housing and Environment and Jersey Property Holdings is scrutinised rigorously.

Arms-Length Bodies/Organisations

The PAC has urged the Government to review its Memoranda of Understandings ((MoU) and Schemes of Delegation with ALBs to engage them more effectively in the overall Estate Strategy implementation. A Memorandum of Understanding agreement (or equivalent) between the States and the ALBs, if not already in place, should be developed to clarify the agreed use of land and property, plus current and anticipated needs of the users, while recognising the States' ownership and ultimate authority over all such assets.

With better engagement with such bodies, the PAC is convinced that ALBs would be reminded of the overall responsibility of the Corporate Asset Management Board as defined in the Estate Management Strategy. The States, through CAMB, has the ability to reallocate use of these States owned properties/land, if and when required. This would allow Recommendation 4 to be fulfilled as per its intention, that is, to co-ordinate, prioritise, allocate and develop property needs'.

A further response from the Government on this recommendation is sought, demonstrating a clear delegation of authority', making clear the financial level and change-of-use level that would be delegated to ALBs and setting out when such bodies would need to seek approval from CAMB for higher-level changes.

The Committee strongly recommend that its successor Committee monitor the project closely. Bellozanne Sewage Waste Treatment Project

Noting  that the Infrastructure, Housing and Environment Department are taking on this construction project, the Committee strongly recommend that its successor Committee monitor the project closely.

Government Response to Covid-19

Work by the C&AG on the Test and Trace and Vaccination Programmes, the Government's overall governance and decision making and communications, is ongoing and did not form part of the Committee's Review of the Government's Response to the pandemic. The PAC would strongly urge its successor to review these areas as part of its future work programme, including but not limited to:

• wider impacts on all parts of Jersey economy and public services

• understanding and incorporating the economic impacts on children and young people

• monitoring the progress of the independent review of the Government's handling of the pandemic (to be commissioned by the end of July 2022).

Citizens' Panels, Assemblies and Juries

Further to its review, the Public Accounts Committee remains convinced that the Government should seek to maximise the transparency and accountability of its deliberative bodies, and it expects to see evidence that all of its (accepted or partially accepted) recommendations have been added to the Recommendations Tracker so that their progress towards implementation can be monitored.

All future deliberative bodies should be undertaken by a single department with a clearly identifiable accountable officer, a named external facilitator, and an accessible and transparent audit trail through which to identify learnings around administration and facilitation, as well as policymaking. This will ensure that deliberative bodies and processes can be run efficiently using the internal expertise developing within the Government of Jersey, with guidelines and processes to be considered and revised where appropriate following the completion of each deliberative body's work.

The Committee advise that its successor should seek further evidence to ensure that the accepted recommendations are implemented and that improved practices are embedded into the governance framework for future bodies.  

Technical Guidance

Technical Guidance should be shared with its members and the Comptroller and Auditor General in order to provide scrutiny of the good governance and best practices contained in the Guidance and to recommend improvements where necessary. Following this, the Technical Guidance should be published to maximise the transparency of the design and operation of future deliberative processes.

Furthermore, the Committee remains of the view that the identity, or the background and experience of the external facilitator used for the Our Hospital Citizens' Panel should be published in order to demonstrate a commitment towards making every deliberative body as transparent as possible.

Concerns raised by this PAC over budgeting and the transparency of the administration of the Our Hospital Citizens' Panel may be useful for consideration as part of a wider review by the Government of Jersey of its consultation and public engagement process, in order to improve best practices for other forms of engagement with the public on key issues, particularly in light of the proposed new Public Inquiries Law.

C&AG Work Programme

The Committee's primary suggestion regarding its successor Committee's work programme is to spend the majority of its efforts on matters arising from the reports produced by the C&AG in accordance with the Jersey Audit Office (JAO) as set out in the Audit Plan Updates published regularly on the JAO website. This should account for 70-80% of the PAC work programme.

The reports that the C&AG plans to be issued before the 2022 election period are:

• Governance of States of Jersey Police (follow up) - the Executive Response was requested on 27 April 2022 and should be received by 20 July 2022, noting that the election of Scrutiny Panel and Public Accounts Committee (States) members will take place on 19 July 2022.[30]

• Cyber Security

• COVID-19 Test and Trace and Vaccination Programmes

• COVID-19 Governance and Decision Making

The remaining work due to be commenced by the C&AG in 2022 is:

• Annual Reporting

• Capital and Major projects

• States Employment Board (Follow up phase 2)

• Risk Management

• Efficiency Savings

• ITS (phase 2)

• Grants to Arts and Cultural Organisations

• Deployment of Healthcare Resource

• COVID-19 Economic, Social and Health recovery

C&AG's Work Programme 2022

Suggested PAC Follow-Up to C&AG work

The C&AG advises that themes from her work that could be considered by the next PAC are: Governance of Health and Social Care

The  Committee  noted  that  the  implementation  of  the  Jersey  Care  Model provides  an opportunity to re-design future care provision on the Island with a potential beneficial impact in terms of service user experience, care outcomes and the cost of care, and would urge its successor PAC to monitor this carefully.

A number of reports from the C&AG refer to this issue and could be used by the PAC for a review, such as the 2021 Governance of Health and Social Care (follow up) and the 2022 CAMHS report. In addition, the production and publication of Health and Community Services performance information and a quality account could also be scrutinised by PAC. The PAC did not have time to follow up fully on the C&AG's work on Healthcare Governance and there are several outstanding issues that would warrant further attention, including:

1. Decision making (e.g., around ward closures)
2. Healthcare performance metrics including what "good" looks like and the comparison to other jurisdictions
3. Organisational culture of the healthcare service, including

1. issues around complaints and speaking up
2. boundaries with other services such as CYPES
3. management of resources (vacancy rate; number of contractors)
4. implementation of the Jersey CARE model
5. issues around healthcare specific IT systems
6. case study of cataracts eye surgery

7. the commissioning model for GPs

(viii) general administration and governance (record keeping; quality of

briefings)

Given the importance and uniqueness of this new care approach, the Committee would urge its successor PAC to monitor this carefully.

CAMHS

Improving mental health and wellbeing is a major public health challenge. The Government of Jersey has stated in the Government Plan 2022-25 that the physical, emotional, and mental health of the Island's children and young people remain of the highest priority.' The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) is a specialist mental health service for children and young people (up to the age of 18) and their families.  

At the time of publishing this Legacy Report, the C&AG's fieldwork for her review into the Child and Adult Mental Health Service (CAMHS) is ongoing. The review project specification itemises the aspects of CAMHS' provision including services delivered by partners both on and off Island.

Long Term Care Fund

The Long-Term Care Fund (LTCF) provides universal and means-tested benefits for adults with long term care needs. Those care needs are assessed and delivered via the Long-Term Care Scheme (LTCS). The LTCS started in 2014 and currently provides care for around 1,400 residents, the majority of whom live in residential care homes. The C&AG's Report on the Long-Term Care Fund was published at the end of February 2022 and she made several recommendations to review, simplify and streamline the processes and systems that underpin the Scheme. The Committee requested an Executive Response to the C&AG's Report which is expected on 6 May 2022.

The C&AG suggested the PAC could follow up other aspects of her work:

• Oversight of Arms-Length Bodies (see C&AG recommendations of Public Audit Thinkpiece (2020) and the Executive Response plus Annual Reporting (2021) and accompanying Good Practice Guide regarding the framework for holding these bodies to account publicly;

• Handling and Learning from Feedback and Complaints (the 2020 C&AG report contained many recommendations that need implementing, as well as previous C&AG reports on Freedom of Information (2019) and Health and Social Care Governance)

• COVID-19 (the PAC should follow up on implementation of the remaining C&AG recommendations and remaining C&AG reports as well as implementation of its own recommendations. The independent review panel will also make recommendations that the PAC should ensure are implemented)

• Information Technology Programmes (the ITS report contained many recommendations and there will be a phase 2 ITS report. The cyber security report will also contain recommendations and there are other significant IT programme implementations that the PAC may wish to obtain assurance on, including healthcare systems)

• Efficiency savings (there will be a C&AG report on this in 2022 and the PAC raised questions when initially reviewing the States Annual Report and Accounts 2021)

• Capital and Major projects (this will be a significant C&AG report and may justify a PAC review depending on recommendations)

The C&AG suggested that any follow up to the latter of the reports detailed above could include a review of the governance framework established by Government to reflect the post- pandemic rise in interest rates and inflation.

Other Review Topics

Management Information and Procurement

Although this Committee had covered recurring themes such as Organisational Culture, Decision Making, Financial Management, and Performance, it did not have time to commence work on other recurring themes such as Management Information, and Procurement. The PAC urges the new Committee to scrutinise the implementation of recommendations relating to those issues closely and follow up on progress made.

The PAC would further suggest that a crucial focus of any future review should be a focus on the administration, processes, and structure of procurement to gain an understanding of how Commercial Services liaises with departments and whether that contact is sufficient to provide good governance.

Economic Recovery

Risk evaluation and management, economic recovery and monitoring inflation and interest rates were topics touched upon briefly by the PAC with the Interim and new Chief Executive, but the incoming PAC should be better positioned to review the Government's measures to reduce the negative impacts of these ongoing matters.

Automated Voter Registration

The Committee previously identified an example of where a key I.T initiative has failed, despite the investment made within the Modernisation and Digital function. The project Automatic Voter Registration'[31] was due to be delivered in time for the 2022 Election but because there were deficiencies in project management to deliver the project, it was subsequently closed and remains undelivered. The failure of the project highlights the impact of poor performance on the public and the Island as a whole.

The Committee believes that the enhanced capabilities provided to M&D, through significant investment, should have placed M&D in a better position to deliver the project and sincerely hopes that this tool to facilitate democracy can be put in place by the time of the next election cycle of 2026.

Final Observations

The Committee highlights the following points of interest:

• A strong and constructive relationship has been established with the C&AG, the Deputy C&AG and the Jersey Audit Office, and this should be maintained.

• The C&AG has now helpfully added formal Executive Responses and PAC follow up Comments for each Review on the Jersey Audit Office website.

• The PAC found increased public engagement and presence on social media extremely positive, including asking the public for feedback on its performance in public hearings, and using social media to ask what questions they might have for upcoming hearings or reviews.

• The Committee has found invaluable the hard work and dedication displayed by the non-States members and would advise the PAC to utilise their knowledge base fully – it recommends that the new PAC should ask newly appointed lay members to adhere to, a Code of Conduct[32] in line with that of States Members;

• The Committee found the provision of questioning training and preliminary team- working exercises such as the workshop' events, to be of benefit,  and strongly recommends that its successor undertake such training with professional facilitators (including follow-up training);