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The first phase of the £63m ITS project - which aims to overhaul the Government’s finance, payroll and procurement computer systems - is eight months behind schedule.
Making her first appearance before a Scrutiny Panel yesterday, Government CEO Suzanne Wylie told the Public Accounts Committee that extra complexity to the delivery design of the first phase - which was due to be completed next month but now won’t be finished until the end of the year - had been the cause.
Extra work needed around finance, commercial relationships and the Supply Jersey portal had also delayed the project, the panel heard, as well as “key person dependency”, which is an over-reliance on the ability and skills of too few people.
However, Mrs Wylie said that the three subsequent phases of the four-year programme would be on schedule and the overall project would be on-time and on-budget.
Pictured: The stated benefits of the ITS project.
The Integrated Technology Solution programme got off to a controversial start when its initial £28m budget more than doubled to £63m after the the Government conceded that it had initially under-estimated its costs and scope.
Through updating and integrating various outdated and disparate systems, the project is expected to provide savings of £13m between now and its completion in 2026, and there will be £3m a year of ongoing savings after that.
During the panel hearing, Mrs Wylie - two months into her role - also set out her vision for the civil service under her leadership.
Pictured: New Government CEO Suzanne Wylie.
Her immediate priorities, she said, included working with the senior leadership team to “ensure the effective delivery of Government Plan priorities, helping her Director Generals to drive cultural change through the organisation and establishing a new External Relations Department.
She also said she wanted to launch a volunteering scheme for staff, work closer with all States bodies, including the arms-length organisations like Ports of Jersey, and introduce a diversity and inclusion programme.
The risks to achieving those priorities, she said, included staff shortages, particularly in Health, Education and technical roles within IHE; external threats such as rising inflation, and the political uncertainty of the year ahead.
However, she added that issuing bonds to fund the new hospital and the main contract to build it had been delayed until the new Council of Ministers is formed after June.
A contact to convert the old Les Quennevais School into a temporary hospital will, however, be signed before the election.
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