He has also paused work to expand digital services which had been started to replace a project known as MyGov which cost £18m. and delivered no substantial improvements.
In addition, he is ripping up reforms to the senior leadership team introduced by one of his predecessors, Paul Whitfield, and reinstating the principle that each major States committee should have its own lead official, previously known as the chief officer or chief secretary.
The changes were announced yesterday by Policy & Resources vice-president Gavin St Pier during a statement about the ongoing investigation into project management failures, including MyGov and at Revenue Services, which were recently revealed to have wasted tens of millions of pounds.
He told the States that Mr Smillie’s changes would ‘support stronger controls’ and had been ‘endorsed and approved’ by P&R.
‘When external resource becomes the default response to complex problems, opportunities for staff to develop expertise, lead major work and build institutional knowledge are eroded. Capability cannot grow if it is continually outsourced,’ said Deputy St Pier.
‘We have talented public servants. A resilient civil service requires investing in their technical skills, leadership ability and confidence to take on complex delivery.
‘That means creating space for teams to lead, strengthening development and succession planning, and being deliberate about when external support is genuinely needed.’
He said that Mr Smillie intended later this year to publish details of all States’ consultancy contracts, including their cost and why they were needed.
In a sign of a shift in thinking away from off-island consultants and towards local expertise, Deputy St Pier issued an open invitation to people with experience of major projects to get in touch about working with the States.
The announcement likely to be of greatest interest to other States members was the change to the civil service structure to force it back into line with the committee structure which has been in place since 2016. The removal of committees’ chief secretaries in 2019 was met with widespread political scepticism at the time.
‘Principal committees hold the democratic mandate – they set policy, determine priorities and are publicly accountable for outcomes – yet senior leadership structures do not always mirror this,’ said Deputy St Pier.
‘The chief executive notes three risks from this misalignment. Committees may feel they lack a single senior officer clearly accountable for their priorities, officers may face competing demands across different mandates, and staff may be uncertain about where ultimate accountability lies.
‘This is not about recreating the past, but restoring a straightforward principle – one principal committee, one accountable officer.’
Another lesson being learned from the ongoing investigation into previous project failures was the need to intervene earlier and more decisively should things start to go wrong.
Deputy St Pier cited that lesson as the reason for a temporary pause in the current digital services project which succeeded MyGov. The launch of a new States website will be among the projects affected.
‘The pause is not a judgement on effort, nor is it a sign of failure,’ he said.
‘However, activity is not the same as clarity of outcomes. Before continuing, we must be able to define precisely the benefits the programme will deliver, how they will be measured, and the full financial commitment required.
‘The test is straightforward – will it improve access to services, reduce failure demand, enhance the public’s experience, lower costs over time, and build public trust?
‘Only with a robust case, clear in value and affordability, will we move forward again.’
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