PRESS RELEASE

15 January 2009

PR/06/08/09

£3 BILLION REFORM AGENDA UNDER SCRUTINY

Initial findings by the Public Accounts Committee on the Reform Agenda indicate that the Department for Finance and Personnel may have difficulties completing the implementation of the three billion pound programme.

Committee Chairperson, Paul Maskey MLA, said, “There is an enormous challenge ahead for the Department of Finance and Personnel (DFP) to complete the implementation phases of the various Reform Agenda projects and to move to successful operation. In the Committee’s view, the Department’s capacity to do this is still unproven. In addition, whether value for money has been achieved is still to be demonstrated.”

The Committee found that in three of the major projects (Account NI, HR Connect and Network NI), there were problems with both the specification and procurement which could have been avoided through better planning. These difficulties led to both delay and avoidable costs.

Problems with a legal challenge from a company unsuccessful at tender led to a settlement costing the taxpayer over £1.2m. Other procurement issues, including the possible merger of two bidders, led to uncertainty in the tender process with DFP unable to make an informed judgement on future negotiations.

The Committee found that there was a lack of understanding within DFP of the burden that was entailed for effective project leadership and management, demonstrated by appointing one person to be the Senior Responsible Officer for four of the high profile projects, including Workplace 2010.

Paul Maskey said, “There are a number of lessons for the Department. First and foremost, they have a responsibility to ensure that the public receives value for money. To do this effectively they mustharness essential skills and ensure that they are deployed appropriately in future projects.

“The absence of measurable data to enable departments to identify baseline costs makes it much more difficult for DFP to demonstrate, and for the Committee to assess, whether value for money has been maximised. Without any clear specification of the benefits at the outset, we may still end up with systems that are not fit for purpose.”

“Having said that, the Committee does acknowledge the work currently being completed to identify the full range of benefits that can be realised from these projects as they are rolled out over the next decade and beyond.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

The seven projects of the £3 billion Reform Agenda are:

HR Connect – provides personnel services from a shared service centre;

Workplace2010 – aims to introduce a modern working environment in the NICS;

RecordsNI – an IT based common storage facility for all of the NICS records;

AccountNI – provides centralised transaction processing services from a shared service centre;

NetworkNI – the delivery of voice, video and data communication in a high-speed network service connecting all NICS locations;

CentreforAppliedLearning ( CAL) – provides quality training services mainly to NICS departments and agencies, including the Senior Civil Service; and

IT Assist – a new information and communications technology (ICT) shared service centre.

• Standing Orders under Section 60(3) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 have provided for the establishment of the Public Accounts Committee (the Committee). The main statutory function of the Committee is to consider accounts and the reports by the Comptroller and Auditor General for Northern Ireland (C&AG) laid before the Northern Ireland Assembly.
• The C&AG is head of the Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO) and is empowered to investigate any area of expenditure and has a statutory right of access to all files and papers in Departments and public bodies.

The PAC Committee members are:-

Alliance	Mr Trevor Lunn
Democratic Unionist Party	Mr Jim Shannon 6
	Mr Jonathan Craig
	Mr George Robinson 7
	Mr Jim Wells 3,4,5
Sinn Fein	Mr Paul Maskey (Chairperson) 2
	Mr Mitchel McLaughlin
Social Democratic and Labour Party	Mr John Dallat Mr Thomas Burns 1
Ulster Unionist Party	Mr Roy Beggs (Deputy Chairperson)
Progressive Unionist Party	Ms Dawn Purvis

1 With effect from 04 March 2008 Mr Thomas Burns replaced Mr Patsy McGlone.
2 With effect from 20 May 2008 Mr Paul Maskey replaced Mr John O'Dowd.
3 With effect from 1 October 2007 Mr Mickey Brady replaced Mr Willie Clarke.
4 With effect from 21 January 2008 Mr Ian McCrea replaced Mr Mickey Brady.
5 With effect from Tuesday 27 May 08 Mr Jim Wells replaced Mr Ian McCrea.

6 With effect from Monday, 15 September 08 Mr Shannon replaced Mr David Hilditch.

7 With effect from Monday, 15 September 08 Mr Robinson replaced Mr Simon Hamilton

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