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Deputy Helen Miles
Chair
Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel States of Jersey
By email
13 September 2024
Dear Deputy Miles
Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel Proposed Budget 2025-2028 Review Thank you for your letter dated 22 August 2024 requesting a submission to the above
review.
You will appreciate that my responsibilities stem from legislation, in particular the Comptroller and Auditor General (Jersey) Law 2014. I am responsible for providing the States Assembly with independent assurance that the public finances of Jersey are being regulated, controlled, supervised and accounted for in accordance with the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019 and other specified legislation, and reporting to the States Assembly in relation to:
- general corporate governance arrangements
- the effectiveness of internal controls, and of the internal auditing of those controls
- whether resources are being used economically, efficiently and effectively; and
- actions needed to bring about improvement, where improvement is needed.
My primary focus is on implementation rather than policy and is backward-looking rather than forward-looking.
My main point of liaison is with the Public Accounts Committee, which I have a statutory duty to attend, rather than with Scrutiny Panels.
However, the Code of Audit Practice that I have prepared and published provides that, where requested by a Scrutiny Panel, I shall consider whether to provide evidence to a
LYNN PAMMENT CBE
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
Panel where if, in my opinion, doing so would assist the Panel and not compromise the discharge of my functions.
In that context, I am happy to provide observations in response to your request.
In February 2024, I published my Annual Report of Findings 2023. This report contained an analysis of themes from my recommendations that Government had not implemented at that time. Since the publication of that report, I have issued a further five reports.
My Annual Report of Findings 2023 identified themes from C&AG recommendations that had not been implemented by Government at 31 December 2023. I also noted that most of the recommendations made in 2023 related to opportunities to improve value for money and governance and accountability. For both 2022 and 2023, the biggest category of recommendations focussed on seeing change through to deliver improved outcomes and in particular to deliver public benefit. All nine of my 2023 publications included at least one recommendation in this area.
The Exhibit below contains further details.
Targeted areas for improvement: 2023 recommendations
Leadership, Training and skills governance and 8%
frameworks
18% Workforce and recruitment
11%
Joined up approach
15%
Seeing change through to improved
Risk management outcomes
21% 27%
Source: Jersey
Audit Office analysis of C&AG 2023 recommendations
Analysis of open recommendations at 31 December 2023 – targeted areas for improvement | |||
|
Workforce and recruitment 11% Risk management 19% Seeing change through to improved outcomes 21% | ||
| |||
Source: Jersey Audit Office analysis of Government of Jersey C&AG Recommendations Tracker | |||
Targeted areas for improvement: 2024 recommendations to 31 August 2024 | |||
4% improved outcomes 14% Leadership and governance Joined up 57% approach 25% | |||
Source: Jersey Audit Office analysis of 2024 recommendations to 31 August 2024 | |||
In terms of my 2024 reports, the following Recommendations, Planned work that should be prioritised and Areas for Consideration are relevant to your Budget 2025-2028 Review:
Electronic Patient Record (February 2024) | |
R1 | Undertake a high-level stock take of all major digital change programmes planned over the next four years and map out these programmes against the capacity and capability of the teams within Government to support these changes. |
R2 | Produce an ongoing full cost summary for all long running Major and Strategic programmes, particularly those funded through wider Government or Departmental programmes or where funding is allocated to multiple Government Departments. This summary should be reconciled annually, to ensure whole life programme cost control is visible. |
R3 | Introduce requirements that ensure that procurement strategies document the options for packaging the procurement in ways that lower the level of risk to the Government and detail the likely costs of each option under consideration. |
P1 | Finalise the development, approve and adopt an overarching technology strategy for Government. |
A1 | Consider increasing the capacity of technical experts within Government to support on complex IT and change management programmes. |
A2 | Consider introducing a dedicated Chief Information Officer role for health and community services within Government, either within HCS or within M&D. This role should focus on the broader spectrum of health and community services related information technology, encompassing clinical, administrative, and operational aspects, aligning technology with overall strategy and objectives and overseeing procurement and implementation. |
Use of Consultants – Follow Up (March 2024) | |
R4 | Undertake a specific review of the current and planned future use of consultants and contingent labour performing project management roles. Use this review to identify alternative delivery models to drive improved value for money. |
R5 | Enhance the management information produced, reviewed and challenged in respect of expenditure. |
R6 | Enhance the Procurement Best Practice and Procedures: User Guide and Toolkit to include clarity on the contract management responsibilities of officers in charge of consultancy projects. |
R7 | Develop and implement standard approaches to managing and reporting on consultants across the Government, including very clear requirements on the reporting of planned and actual skills transfer where this is a clear part of a commissioned piece of work. |
R9 | Develop and implement a standard, consistent process for the evaluation of consultancy engagements. |
R10 | Develop and implement a formal system of documenting and monitoring consultant recommendations across States of Jersey departments. |
P1 | Accelerate the completion of departmental and corporate workforce development plans to include resource numbers and budgets. |
P2 | Accelerate the work being undertaken to compile departmental training plans alongside workforce plans. The training plans should take account of identified skills shortages, particularly in connection with project management and digital. |
Critical Infrastructure Resilience – Energy (June 2024) | |
R1 | Review actions arising from the Crisis Resilience Improvement Plan in 2023 to ensure they are progressing as required. |
R2 | Prepare whole system' action plans with clear responsibilities and timelines to deliver the improvements identified in all recent critical incident de-brief reports. |
R4 | Undertake a review to ensure that Business Continuity Plans for all Government assets demonstrate good practice, including in consideration of energy infrastructure resilience. |
R5 | Undertake a thorough and urgent review of the emergency planning arrangements for the La Collette site including contributions from all stakeholders and using expert input. |
R6 | Introduce formal procedures to ensure that an updated La Collette emergency response plan is subject to ongoing monitoring, testing and review with all partners. |
R8 | Join up energy related workstreams across Government and the JRF to ensure that key individuals and groups have a common and complete picture, including of resilience issues, risks and opportunities. |
R9 | Ensure that the Corporate Risk Register adequately records the risks in the area of energy provision and resilience. |
R10 | In line with the development of a new Resilience Law, update Laws governing energy provision so that they are aligned, fit for purpose and drive high standards of resilience. |
P1 | Prepare an Infrastructure Roadmap to support resilience and sustainability of the utility infrastructure. This should be based on a robust understanding of existing infrastructure risks and opportunities and, taking into account future needs, identify investment priorities. |
P2 | As a matter of urgency, complete a full, stakeholder-wide review of the Community Risk Register (CRR) to ensure that a relevant and fit-for-purpose CRR is produced, owned and maintained within the Enterprise Risk Management framework by the end of 2024. |
P3 | Complete consideration of the business case for additional resources to ensure sufficient capacity to manage the Emergency Planning function in future. |
P4 | Re-visit consultation on the Resilience Standards to ensure that all stakeholders have had an opportunity to comment. Feed back to stakeholders on how their ideas have been responded to. |
Commissioning of Services (July 2024) | |
R1 | Develop a cross Government Commissioning and Partnerships Strategy, building on the Health and Care Commissioning and Partnerships Strategy. |
R2 | When commissioning a new service, or recommissioning an existing service, departments should formally document and capture the rationale behind why a particular delivery option is chosen. |
R3 | Establish clear responsibility and accountability for the planning and commissioning associated with long term care, and with children's care, using the principles set out within the draft Jersey Commissioning Framework. |
R5 | Review and rationalise the commissioning, and number of, off-Island tertiary contracts managed by HCS and ensure appropriate responsibility and accountability arrangements are formalised. |
R6 | Implement a systematic approach to documenting the contract review process for monitoring and evaluating the delivery of commissioned services against the key performance criteria included in contracts. |
R7 | Design and implement effective mechanisms to engage with all providers of commissioned services across Government to inform future needs and opportunities as well as to monitor and evaluate delivery. |
R8 | Ensure key performance criteria include outcome-based and, where appropriate, service user informed, measures. |
P1 | Develop a joint commissioning workplan, based on the opportunities identified by the Cross Government Commissioning Function for Health and Care. |
P2 | Explicitly set out the funding and future programme of the Jersey Commissioning Academy for 2024 and beyond. |
Oversight of Arm's Length Bodies (July 2024) | |
R4 | Develop performance indicators for Arm's Length Bodies based on States policy objectives including risk appetite, service performance measures and wider policy and value for money objectives. |
R8 | Develop and implement mechanisms to link investment and funding to agreed outcome measures and performance expected from ALBs. |
R9 | Review the potential opportunities for improving value for money in the management of ALBs and the delivery of their services identified in this report and in my Thinkpiece: Governance and Accountability of Independent Bodies and Office Holders (December 2022). Implement actions to deliver those which can be realised. |
R10 | Ensure better co-ordination between Government departments and States owned entities (including Andium Homes, States of Jersey Development Company and Ports of Jersey) for the provision of social housing for purchase, property management of HCS staff accommodation, housing policy and land use policy. |
P1 | Finalise the current review of Arm's Length Organisations being undertaken by the Economy Department. |
I trust that you will find this response to be of assistance. Yours sincerely
Lynn Pamment CBE Comptroller and Auditor General