pipster wrote:Bakedalasker wrote:wez1927 wrote:piledriver64 wrote:Massive delays in getting passports, drivers licenses, benefits, immigration appeals, justice system etc., this governments answer to all of that - get rid of 90,000 civil servants
Now I do understand that civil servants aren't the most popular area of our economy despite them n being on a pay freeze from 2012 until 2018 and then only limited to a 1.5 - 2.0% pay rise in recent years. There probably is room to reduce numbers once they are provided with updated IT in may departments but to reduce on the back of huge backlogs caused by the pandemic it bordering on ineptitude
and will cause even greater delays for those of us trying to get things like a passport renewed (yes I am one of them
).
You wouldn't run a private business that way. You would invest in IT, equipment, estate, etc., get your business lean and then look to realise staffing benefits (i.e. reduce numbers).
The 90k are staff that were taken on doing the pandemic tho ,maily covud testing etc ,its going back to pre pandemic numbers tho ?
The Civil Service invest in I.T systems just like all its other Governmental departments. These new upgrades are quite a challenge to install due to the size of the service it has to provide. From my experience working within these department the problem are generated by the 3rd party suppliers. The private businesses of it all. For me these departments should kick the private businesses into touch and bring it all in house.
Wrong sorry - if a private business signs a contract to deliver a system (as defined within that contract) they are legally obliged to do so. If they dont - the money can be witheld and if the system doesnt work as required they can vbe taken to court.
If it is done internally by the civil service IT devs - then will the Govt take themselves to court when civil servants dont deliver ? - that is why all these things go outy to tender. There are plenty of companies that have come unstuck - Accenture and Fujitsi to name 2.
It also doesnt help when you have a Govt dept that speficies it;s requirements and then changes them every month or so.
I'm not sure that final point is accurate.
Most of the big IT developments now in Whitehall departments with private companies tend to adopt an "Agile" development approach.They agree a price to provide a minimum viable product (MVP) and then develop it in iterations, learning as they go along.
The days of departments developing their own large systems are virtually gone. Many don't even have IT Development teams such has been the extent of cuts and this governments drive toward using more private development companies (much more expensive for the tax payer though).
Government departments are now much better at setting out their specifications and working with contractors than they were but when the Treasury won't fund these improvements there tend to be some significant problems for the poor staff left having to contend with antiquated systems that have had their upgrades halted halfway through the process !!