I wish to advise the Deputy that, in line with the recommendation of the Effectiveness and Renewal Group (ERG) in its First Report in June 2018, my Department is now aligned around two pillars, Criminal Justice, and Civil Law and Equality respectively. Ms. Oonagh McPhillips is the Deputy Secretary with responsibility for Criminal Justice and Ms. Oonagh Buckley has recently been appointed as Deputy Secretary with responsibility for Civil Law and Equality.
The work to implement a new operating model based on functional units, also recommended by the ERG, is also underway, and an internal programme team has been put in place. In addition, on 21 September, a request for tender (RFT) for external specialist expertise to support the Department to plan, design and implement the model was issued with a closing date of 26 October 2018. The tenders are currently being evaluated and it is anticipated that a contract will shortly be awarded. A programme budget will be prepared following the award of the tender when definitive figures are available. No costs have been incurred to date for external assistance on the Transformation Programme.
The Second Report of the ERG (September 2018) asked that the optimal structure to be adopted for a number of my Department’s large operational areas, including those referred to by the Deputy, should be examined further in the context of giving greater clarity and delineated responsibility and accountability for meeting the objectives associated with those services. My Department is engaging with the ERG in this regard and it is anticipated that the outputs from this engagement will help inform the ERG and their Third Report which is due in December 2018.
More generally, and as indicated in the Second Report from the ERG, my Department has made good progress to date and my officials will continue to progress the Transformation Programme as a matter of the highest priority.
