Submission - Response to COVID-19 - Comptroller and Auditor General - 17 January 2022

17 January 2022

Connétable Karen Shenton-Stone Vice Chair, Public Accounts Committee States Greffe

Morrier House

St Helier

Jersey

JE1 1DD

Via email to:  

Dear Connétable Shenton-Stone PAC Covid Response Review

Thank you for your letter of 17 December 2021. I am happy to provide a response to the questions you set out in your letter.

Q1. How did your responsibilities as the Principal Officer to/Head of your department change during the COVID-19 Pandemic? What new responsibilities did you take on and what responsibilities did you hand over to other officers?

1. How was this tracked?
2. What new responsibilities did your department take on and what responsibilities did you hand over to other departments? How were these tracked?  
3. How did you work with other departments and key stakeholders to identify new areas of work to mitigate the impact of the pandemic?

My responsibilities as Comptroller and Auditor General derive from statute and remained unchanged during the COVID-19 pandemic. I therefore did not assume or transfer responsibilities.

However, in response to the pandemic, I adjusted the way in which I discharged my responsibilities including by revising my audit programme to:

• include work specifically addressing risks relating to the States' response to the pandemic; and

• include work that could effectively be with minimum engagement with those responding to the pandemic.

LYNN PAMMENT

Comptroller and Auditor General

Jersey Audit Office, de Carteret House, 7 Castle Street, St Helier, Jersey JE2 3BT

T: +44 1534 716800 E: enquiries@jerseyauditoffice.je W: www.jerseyauditoffice.je

As a result of existing contingency plans and information technology the Office was able to continue to operate remotely.

Q2. We know there has been a huge impact of COVID-19 response measures on departmental business as usual activities, including the secondment of staff to other departments to aid the response effort. Do you have a back-to-normal' recovery plan for your department?  

1. In respect of the secondment of Government staff to other departments to aid the response effort, how did you ensure disruptions to certain workstreams were prioritised in an objective and consistent way?
2. What would you do differently next time?

There were no secondments to or from the Office as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the work of the Office continued largely as normal. There is therefore no back to normal' recovery plan for the Office.

Q3. How have you monitored the effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on departmental business as usual activities and the disruptions to it?

1. What tools were developed by your departments to monitor this?
2. How do you minimise the impact on services and key deliveries?
3. What decision making tools/approach did you use to decide on who should be seconded, and to where?
4. How did you compensate for staff seconded to other departments to aid the response effort?

The Office has continued to monitor delivery of its work programme in the normal way, including through:

• Preparation of reports on delivery of its work programme to the Public Accounts Committee; and

• Preparation of reports to the Board of Governance of the Comptroller and Auditor General on the Office's governance and use of resources.

As explained in the answer to Question 2 above, there was no secondment of staff to other departments.

Q4. Was any departmental authority changed during the Pandemic, including as a result of crisis management efforts, and if so, were they consistent with existing laws and regulations?

There was no change in departmental authority during the pandemic.

Q5. Who is responsible for monitoring the performance of services established in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic within your department?

1. What and how have you documented lessons learnt?
2. How do you intend to incorporate lessons learned from the performance of these services into the wider performance of your department?

The Office did not establish any services specifically in response to the pandemic. The delivery of work during the pandemic, including the work specifically related to COVID- 19, has been monitored through existing arrangements as described in the answer to Question 3 above.

Q6. How were self-assessment frameworks and Key Performance Indicators used to ensure that key services continued to operate?

1. What worked well?
2. What would you do differently?

The Office uses the framework and Key Performance Indictors outlined in its Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2020 (see: https://www.jerseyauditoffice.je/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Office-of-the-CAG-Annual - Report-and-Accounts-2020-report.pdf).

The existing contingency plans and information technology in place meant that the Jersey Audit Office team were able to deliver the Office's work programme remotely.

Q7. What thought has been given to future proofing' services?

The use of Microsoft Teams and Office 365 has enabled the Office to continue to operate in a business as usual' manner during the COVID-19 pandemic. A revised travel policy was also put in place to ensure that the risk of non-availability of resources to perform the function of the Office was minimised. Certain elements of the revised ways of working put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic will continue into the future.

Q8. How have you measured, monitored, and reported on your performance, financial management (including value for money and cost benefit analyses) and impact on work programmes during the COVID-19 pandemic? What 3 things could be improved?  

The Office has continued to measure and monitor performance, including financial performance, as outlined in the answer to Question 3 above.

Q9. What would you do to improve how your department communicated with the rest of the States of Jersey and external stakeholders?

The Office has invested in its website to improve the accessibility of its reporting. It is also exploring and investing in alternative forms of communication, including videos.

I hope that these observations are helpful. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss any aspect of this reply further.

Yours sincerely

Lynn Pamment

Comptroller and Auditor General