Written Answers. - Benchmarking Awards.
Joe Sherlock
Question:
73
Mr. Sherlock
asked the
Minister for Social and Family Affairs
the main features of the Civil Service action plan to meet the requirements of the benchmarking process within her own Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[28965/03]
Seán Ryan
Question:
124
Mr. S. Ryan
asked the
Minister for Social and Family Affairs
the improvements in services that customers of her Department can expect to see as a result of her Department's modernisation action plan introduced under the benchmarking process; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[28964/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 73 and 124 together.
My Department is a customer-centred organisation. The Department's modernisation and change agenda is designed to ensure that the services which this Department gives to people are improved and developed and that its staff are supported and equipped in the delivery of this objective. The Sustaining Progress agreement has provided the opportunity to build on and accelerate the programme of change on which the Department is engaged.
The Department's modernisation action plan is a detailed document containing some 100 commitments that make up a challenging agenda for the Department over the course of Sustaining Progress. This is available on the website of the Department of Finance and I am also arranging for copies to be sent to the Deputies.
While the plan must be considered in its totality, five key priority areas have been identified. These involve the increased use of new technology to deliver better service, greater flexibility in the way services are delivered, implementation of a new control programme, a range of changes in human resources, in particular in the area of promotions and development of better financial management and information systems.
Priorities under the heading of new technology include the development of a new generation of IT systems to facilitate better customer service and to support the Government's strategy for electronic service delivery generally. Projects such as the civil registration modernisation programme, the public service broker, and the public service identity project are linked with this agenda.
In the area of flexible delivery of service, the key element is the phased localisation of the one-parent family payment scheme. In effect, this means that the administration of the scheme will move from one central office to the Department's local office network. This initiative will result in a better, more personalised service to the customer, faster decision-making, readier access to local support programmes and enhanced control measures.
The third priority is control. The Department's existing control strategy entails the use of a mix of measures to minimise risks of fraud and eliminate incorrect payments. Implementation of the new control strategy, involving greater emphasis on risk assessment and risk management and a more focused control approach will provide for a more effective and efficient allocation of resources in this area.
A number of developments in the Department's human resources strategy are reflected in the action plan. Promotion policy is one of the main elements of this strategy. As indicated in the plan, the aim is to move towards a higher proportion of competition-based promotions and the adoption of best practice in this regard.
In the area of financial management the Civil Service management information framework, MIF, project aims at ensuring better decision-making about allocation of resources, better management of resources once allocated and greater transparency and accountability for the use of resources. My Department has a detailed programme of activity scheduled in this area over the course of the period covered by Sustaining Progress.
The overall aim of the action plan is to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the Department in terms of service delivery and the internal management processes that support this delivery. As required under the Sustaining Progress agreement, my Department recently submitted its first progress report on the action plan to the Civil Service performance verification group. I am confident that the Department will continue to deliver on the commitments contained in the plan and will maintain its leading role in the development of better customer service generally.
