Public service commissioning inconsistent - report

Jersey's Comptroller and Auditor General said there needs to be consistent single-agreed definition around public service commissioning

Jersey's government needs more consistency around commissioning public services, the island's auditor has said.

Comptroller and Auditor General Lynn Pamment has published a report into how services operated by government departments are commissioned.

Ms Pamment said there was a lack of consistency into how processes are applied in different departments.

She added while the government has put in place number of "good initiatives" around commissioning, these needed to be developed at "greater pace".

The report said commissioning processes help departments assess the needs of people, how to develop services and to work out how much it will cost.

Ms Pamment said there was evidence the government was seeking to develop a consistent cross-department approach to commissioning services.

However, she said the report found some government departments interpreted commissioning in different ways, such as applying only to contracts awarded to external service providers.

This included customer and local services who did not consider itself to undertake commissioning activities despite it awarding a number of grants to external bodies to help provide services to islanders, the report said.

'Deliver right outcomes'

Ms Pamment said the report had shown there needs to be a consistent single-agreed definition across the States of Jersey for commissioning.

"Where commissioning arrangements are in place, they are generally working well and take the needs of individuals and service providers into account," Ms Pamment said.

"However, not all departments recognise they are commissioning services.

"These initiatives need to be developed at greater pace and rolled out across all government departments, to ensure the needs of islanders are met through commissioned services delivering the right outcomes at the right cost."