Monday 24 June 2019
The Policy & Resources Committee is today publishing the findings of a governance review in respect of the Committee for Home Affairs.
The review set out primarily to explore the extent to which the Committee for Home Affairs demonstrates good governance in the ways in which it develops and implements strategy and policy and oversees the delivery of key services: law enforcement, the probation service, the prison and fire and rescue.
This is the second such review and follows that carried out with the Committee for Health & Social Care. As previously stated, a review of governance in respect of the Policy & Resources Committee is now underway.
The Policy & Resources Committee began the process of reviewing good governance within the States as part of the wider programme of Public Service Reform. This was part of the work stream 'Supporting Government', which has the objective of ensuring that the interaction between policy and operations is well-defined. It is also intended to embed the recommendations of the States Review Committee approved by the States Assembly in 2016, to better define the relationship between policy and operational functions. The review will identify recommendations for improvement both across the States and in specific Committee and service areas.
Last year, the Committee for Home Affairs undertook a more wide-ranging review of its own, carried out by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS). This review led to recommendations in relation to governance and strategic leadership for the Committee for Home Affairs. It was in light of these recommendations that the Policy & Resources Committee and the Committee for Home Affairs agreed to undertake this more focused review of governance, carried out by Professor Catherine Staite, an expert in Public Management and a member of the Institute of Local Government. While this was a process agreed by both committees, it should be noted that it is a duty of the Policy & Resources Committee under its mandate to 'initiate reviews in areas where it appears that performance could be improved'.
This series of reports, are not about blame or pointing fingers but an honest opportunity to learn, understand and enable committees to do things better in the future, and share best practice amongst colleagues.
The findings of Professor Staite's review of the Committee for Home Affairs and its service areas raise a number of concerns.
The Policy & Resources Committee unanimously believes that it is in the public interest to publish the reviews in full to demonstrate openness, transparency, and accountability, which are themselves qualities that define good governance. Prompt publishing of the final report was the approach taken with the earlier review of the Committeefor Health & Social Care and will be taken with all subsequent reviews undertaken in this series. It is the position of the Policy & Resources Committee, in line with guidance from the States' Code of Access to Public Information that information should not be kept secret because its disclosure would be embarrassing. Furthermore the Policy & Resources Committee welcomes the recommendations made in the review and will support the Committee for rHome Affairs and the States in their implementation.
Finally, it is important to emphasise that the criticisms made in this review on governance are in no way a reflection of the quality of public services delivered under the Home Affairs' mandate, such as policing, fire & rescue and the prison and probation services, all of which perform admirably to ensure we live in a safe and just community.
