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“Antiquated” and “out-of-date” IT systems could threaten the progress of a multi-million project to get Jersey’s government more digital, it has been claimed.
eGov – a major initiative to get more States services online – sparked concerns in March, after it was revealed to have already spent more than three quarters of its £9.9 million budget, with senior officials saying that they needed more funding to be able to complete the project. But now, just three months later, worries over the project have emerged once more.
In a critical report, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) listed multiple fears over the eGov project, stating that ways of working would need to be “radically” transformed if the project is to avoid becoming an “expensive and cumbersome ‘add-on” to current systems – including scrapping “expensive bespoke” technology already in place within the States.
The whole project could be put at risk if these remain in place, the Panel say:
"The PAC believes that the whole eGov programme is at risk, if core systems, processes and ways of working are not radically transformed, and if expensive bespoke, antiquated IT systems remain in place. The PAC considers that a scheme which doesn't modernise out-of- date IT systems and working practices, or consolidate the numerous databases is, in effect, a ‘veneer of efficiency’."
Video: What is eGov? Jonathan Williams, Programme Director, explains. (States of Jersey)
The Panel criticised the apparent lack of strategy documents to help shape the output of the scheme, adding that: "The PAC found it difficult to identify a single strategy document serving as a focal point of reference for eGov stakeholders. Unless the core vision is made public in a clear and comprehensive way, there is a danger that it will not be progressed.”
PAC Chairman Deputy Andrew Lewis expressed fears over a lack of clarity on who is actually leading the project – one of the key criticisms of the failed Innovation Fund. “Lines of accountability are neither well enough defined nor functioning effectively at the highest level of this major change programme,” he said.
“Despite our best efforts, the (only partially measurable) outcomes remain obscure… We therefore strongly recommend that there should be greater clarity for the public as to precisely what the programme vision is and what the accountable parties are responsible for delivering – and by when.”
Express has approached the e-Gov team for a response.
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