CS keeps expanding

[Roger Mexico]

16 minutes ago, Ringy Rose said:

The Tynwald question was specific to the departments, and it's unclear if the statutory boards are included- the GSC and FSA are nominally attached to Treasury for other things.

The boards and regulators are a bit harder to tie to "the taxpayer"- licence fees for both the FSA and the GSC can be fifty grand a year. And even more so for the likes of the Steam Packet.

I don't think any of the 'Sponsoring Departments' figures include Boards etc.  Treasury's figures will include Social Security and Job Centre staff as well as more obvious stuff such as Income Tax.

The FSA was once supposed to be self-supporting, but about half of its income comes from a Government Grant (£ 3,497,973 in 21-22).

[Twitch]

2 hours ago, NoTailT said:

I think a majority of Digital's staff are on fixed term contracts? Something to do with how the agencies funding cycles work and can only issue 12 month contracts at a time?

Having just read the original review document into DED in which these failed agencies were originally mooted, more like something to do with the fact that the creation of the agencies ran alongside a promise not to grow the overall headcount. Having FTC means they can fudge the figures on this as headcount in DfE has grown quite significantly over the last 4 years.

[Hoops]

Sorry, skimming through a bit, but there are an awful lot of people in the care sector indirectly employed by the government through care contracts - AI, Crossroads, etc etc

[NoTailT]

3 minutes ago, Twitch said:

Having just read the original review document into DED in which these failed agencies were originally mooted, more like something to do with the fact that the creation of the agencies ran alongside a promise not to grow the overall headcount. Having FTC means they can fudge the figures on this as headcount in DfE has grown quite significantly over the last 4 years.

A lot of this happened whilst Alf was in Treasury, let's not forget.

These 'FTCs' were the result of pitches by the agencies to treasury for budgets to be allocated. Take Digital: ESPORTS, Blockchain and whatever else. I think Treasury allocated £200k/yr for 'ESPORTS' which created two jobs on FTC's now. It's a farce.

It also creates a robbing Peter to pay Paul situation. Digital gets a budget for IoT, employs someone to head up 'IoT' and that budget creates something which is allowing the MUA to roll out smart meters.

Alf can say what he want about culling and taking control, but it's a mess that he was complicit in creating.

Edited December 19, 2022 by NoTailT

[Moghrey Mie]

2 hours ago, Nellie said:

This is more or less exactly what they did in Jersey a few years ago. 

They appointed a guy called Charlie Parker who had been CEO at Westminster City Council - a big job in UK local government to head it up and make it happen.

He became CEO Jersey Government and there was a huge clear out of people who would have been Dept. CEO's, COO's, Directors of this and that, in IOM language. Chris Robershaw's much loathed 'silos' disappeared, organistional structures were delayered and flattened and standardising 'spans of control'. i.e. getting away from layers of 'managers' having only one or two reportees.

Parker was a pretty ruthless guy and just bulldozed it all through, but obviously he had the political backing necessary.

Is he available to sort out the Isle of Man?

 

 

 

[Two-lane]

3 hours ago, Nellie said:

Parker was a pretty ruthless guy and just bulldozed it all through, but obviously he had the political backing necessary.

He got fired:

https://www.itv.com/news/channel/2020-11-10/gary-burgess-charlie-parker-the-donald-trump-of-jersey

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-jersey-57184597

[Roger Mexico]

3 hours ago, Nellie said:

This is more or less exactly what they did in Jersey a few years ago. 

They appointed a guy called Charlie Parker who had been CEO at Westminster City Council - a big job in UK local government to head it up and make it happen.

He became CEO Jersey Government and there was a huge clear out of people who would have been Dept. CEO's, COO's, Directors of this and that, in IOM language. Chris Robershaw's much loathed 'silos' disappeared, organistional structures were delayered and flattened and standardising 'spans of control'. i.e. getting away from layers of 'managers' having only one or two reportees.

Parker was a pretty ruthless guy and just bulldozed it all through, but obviously he had the political backing necessary.

Didn't exactly end well though:

During the Parker years there have been workplace modernisation programmes, the appointment of former colleagues and acquaintances of Charlie Parker to key roles, and a proliferation in the use of consultants to the tune of tens of millions of pounds a year.

Departments have been rearranged, the government ‘organogram’ looks quite different, but the transformation is very much a work in progress.

When I ask senior officials in government to mark Mr Parker’s work, the recurring theme is a propensity to spend eye-watering amounts of money on consultants without strong evidence to show it is either value for money or making a tangible difference.

Not satisfied with his £250,000 a year he took a £50,000 side-hustle with a property developer and then lied about it.  He still got a £500,000 payoff though.  (At least in Jersey you can find out the amount, funny how GDPR works differently elsewhere).

Edited to add: Snap! (even to the same two links)

Edited December 19, 2022 by Roger Mexico

[NoTailT]

3 minutes ago, Roger Mexico said:

Didn't exactly end well though:

During the Parker years there have been workplace modernisation programmes, the appointment of former colleagues and acquaintances of Charlie Parker to key roles, and a proliferation in the use of consultants to the tune of tens of millions of pounds a year.

Departments have been rearranged, the government ‘organogram’ looks quite different, but the transformation is very much a work in progress.

When I ask senior officials in government to mark Mr Parker’s work, the recurring theme is a propensity to spend eye-watering amounts of money on consultants without strong evidence to show it is either value for money or making a tangible difference.

Not satisfied with his £250,000 a year he took a £50,000 side-hustle with a property developer and then lied about it.  He still got a £500,000 payoff though.  (At least in Jersey you can find out the amount, funny how GDPR works differently elsewhere).

Sounds like the perfect job for Jez Spake !

[Harry Lamb]

He did a lot for jazz, though, especially beebop. Pity Jersey gave him the bird.

Edited December 19, 2022 by Harry Lamb

[Ringy Rose]

12 minutes ago, Roger Mexico said:

Not satisfied with his £250,000 a year he took a £50,000 side-hustle with a property developer and then lied about it.  He still got a £500,000 payoff though.  (At least in Jersey you can find out the amount, funny how GDPR works differently elsewhere).

Amazing how a leader of Westminster City Council turned out to be a charlatan.

No doubt any "review" here will go out to Beamans, which just happens to be headed up by a former senior Manx civil servant.

All this focus on headcount is wrong, and ends up with the situation at the airport where there aren't enough air traffic controllers because they were the quickest way to cut numbers.

I don't think the Manx public sector is particularly bloated, but Enterprise is one area that could be tighter.

[WTF]

4 minutes ago, Ringy Rose said:

 

I don't think the Manx public sector is particularly bloated, 

get help.

[Non-Believer]

6 minutes ago, Ringy Rose said:

Amazing how a leader of Westminster City Council turned out to be a charlatan.

No doubt any "review" here will go out to Beamans, which just happens to be headed up by a former senior Manx civil servant.

All this focus on headcount is wrong, and ends up with the situation at the airport where there aren't enough air traffic controllers because they were the quickest way to cut numbers.

I don't think the Manx public sector is particularly bloated, but Enterprise is one area that could be tighter.

The air control situation is fairly exemplary of what has happened pan-govt though. Any of the much-trumpeted "cuts and savings" have largely involved the coalface or services to the public, the bus drivers being another example. I'd be prepared to wager though that nowhere, but nowhere, has there been any axe-swinging in middle management upwards.

In fact their numbers have continued to grow and swell, even Alf Cannan has admitted such and it also attracted adverse Tynwald comment in October 2021 which was supposed to have instigated an inquiry into Govt headcount. An inquiry that has yet to produce an audible peep.

[Ringy Rose]

9 minutes ago, Non-Believer said:

I'd be prepared to wager though that nowhere, but nowhere, has there been any axe-swinging in middle management upwards.

Any "review" will highlight the easiest "savings", so last time we had bus services cut back and bus drivers forced onto worse terms. 

Beamans aren't going to recommend that senior staff get the chop, because it's the senior staff who so dutifully hire Beamans.

[Andy Onchan]

21 hours ago, NoTailT said:

A lot of this happened whilst Alf was in Treasury, let's not forget.

These 'FTCs' were the result of pitches by the agencies to treasury for budgets to be allocated. Take Digital: ESPORTS, Blockchain and whatever else. I think Treasury allocated £200k/yr for 'ESPORTS' which created two jobs on FTC's now. It's a farce.

It also creates a robbing Peter to pay Paul situation. Digital gets a budget for IoT, employs someone to head up 'IoT' and that budget creates something which is allowing the MUA to roll out smart meters.

Alf can say what he want about culling and taking control, but it's a mess that he was complicit in creating.

If the income from the registries was removed from the DfE budget then there'd be a massive financial shortfall in support for these agencies. I doubt any of them would wash their face.

[CallMeCurious]

On 12/18/2022 at 12:59 PM, Non-Believer said:

Wasn't this part of the restructuring when Dept of Economic Development became DfE (under Skelly)?

Each sub-Dept of DfE was given its own CEO, and presumably deputies of some sort.

Empire building on a huge scale and what do we have to show for it, economy-wise?

New signage & letterheads? Not to mention new furniture when they play musical chairs with office space. Possibly new carpets and decoration if theree is remodelling. Oh and don't forget the parking space that probably goes with the position.

Then HR will have to setup new contracts and organisational charts with roles and responsibilities, IT departments will need to revamp websites, emails etc. Then there are the mission statements, carbon footprints to calculate etc.

They get quite a lot for our money. Us, not so much.