States vote to spend £200m. on IT project
A VISION of better service, better government and better value for money has been promised as the States agreed to spend around £200m. on a 10-year project of IT transformation.
Putting forward the project, the president of Policy & Resources, Deputy Gavin St Pier, gave a forceful speech.
‘This project is evidence-based, it is ambitious, it is essential, and critically it is achievable.’
The aims of the project include making States services more accessible to islanders, to stimulate the local economy, and to change the way civil servants work.
‘It will improve islanders’ experience by enabling the digitisation and redesign of services so that they are easier to use, available at any time and tailored to meet individuals’ needs.
‘The technology foundation required will be set for providing much better services, for example providing a single sign-on service for each customer instead of multiple different logins and passwords.’
Agilisys was put forward as the preferred bidder to carry out the project, and Deputy St Pier said P&R had thoroughly researched the company and had every confidence in it.
‘The proposed partner has a strong track record of delivering these programs, we’ve not taken that on trust, we’ve visited and spoken to a number of their other clients, and, I hasten to add, without Agilisys being present.’
P&R asked the Assembly for funds to get the project started, and Deputy St Pier said it would save money in the long run.
‘The predicted savings of £5.9m. reflect the difference between Agilisys’ offer and the States’ current spend on IT services, but that baseline figure does not reflect the increase in IT costs that would very likely occur over the period if we did nothing.
‘The overall savings on business-as-usual services would increase from £5.9m. to £19.1m.’
Deputy St Pier insisted that there were checks in place and they had considered all the risks on such a massive financial project.
‘The proposed partnership includes detailed performance management regime, it envisages regular reviews, and, should it be required, in the interests of the States, there is a comprehensive set of exit provisions.’
Summing up, Deputy St Pier said it had been the most thorough procurement process that he had ever been involved with in his time with the States and he wholeheartedly asked his fellow States members to support it.
