St Pier and Ferbrache clash over ‘inadequate’ Agilisys contract
The two presidents of the senior committee responsible for the Agilisys IT contract have clashed over its commissioning and implementation.
Deputy Gavin St Pier, president of Policy & Resources when the 10-year, £200m. contract was signed in 2019, said yesterday ‘it was very disappointing’ that the contract had failed to deliver what was expected from it.
His successor, Peter Ferbrache, said there were ‘obvious problems’ emerging from the deal shortly after he took over in October 2020.
‘It was a contract that left many things unsaid. It was inadequate,’ he said. ‘The States, it seemed to me, as has often been the case, were outgunned and outmanned.’
A Scrutiny Management Committee report into the partnership published last week blamed serious failures in the partnership on incompetence and complacency from the States.
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IT industry figures have also criticised what they saw as a lack of oversight, governance and due diligence in the drafting and implementation of the contract.
Deputy St Pier said that he considered the Scrutiny report was ‘detailed and fair’, and it had recognised the need for change in IT provision in the States.
He defended the procurement process that delivered the contract, saying it was ‘extensive and appropriately led’ by those within the States responsible for IT, finance, procurement and legal process.
‘The political processes at Policy & Resources and in the States of Deliberation to approve the resources were undertaken in good faith in reliance on expert advice,’ he added.
Deputy Ferbrache said that he was concerned about how the proposal was presented to deputies for approval in 2019.
‘This was supposed to be the saviour of what had been a pretty pathetic, intermittent, unsatisfactory and undocumented series of IT issues, computers and the like. Undoubtedly there was a pressing need for widespread improvement in the computer and IT offering of the States.
‘But members are entitled, in such complicated matters, to rely upon the committee that was putting that forward to them for their consideration to give them appropriate guidance.’
Shortly after becoming P&R president, although Covid was a focus for the States, Deputy Ferbrache said it soon became ‘obvious’ to him there were problems with the contract.
‘We were constantly told by officers that matters were under control and there were no real problems and they were just teething issues and they would be sorted out. We did not leave it there though.’
Deputy St Pier said the Scrutiny report recognised that the first year of the contract was overtaken by the pandemic, which required resources to enable government to respond, and that response by government and Agilisys was widely commended at the time.
From October 2020, when Deputy Ferbrache was elected as P&R president, Deputy St Pier said he played no further role in the oversight of the contract and was not privy to information.
Deputy Ferbrache said that his committee was ‘left to manage much of a mess and a far from desirable situation’.
He said that problems became more apparent as time went on and his committee always asked for them to be addressed, on more than one occasion with senior people from Agilisys.
‘We did our best, almost despite the assurances that were constantly given to us.’
Deputy Ferbrache’s committee, recommended by States chief executive Mark de Garis, appointed Ge Drossaert, now the States chief digital and information officer. He said that Mr Drossaert ‘improved the situation significantly’.
Deputy Ferbrache said that he had not been approached to contribute to the Scrutiny process, and had no involvement with the Agilisys contract since he was removed as P&R president in December 2023. Deputy St Pier did not clarify his role with the report.
Deputy St Pier said Scrutiny’s recommendations in the report seemed ‘eminently sensible and practical’, but considered the current P&R’s intention not to establish an IT advisory board to assist lay politicians in decision-making as ‘an opportunity missed.’
