COMMENT: History has taught us to be wary of external consultants

I WAS going to start this column by telling you all about how on 4 October I asked, via the States communications team, what I assumed was a pretty simple question related to the Chief Minister’s Department.

I was going to question why it took a week to get just a basic yes/no answer.

And I was going to have a real moan about why it took even longer when I asked for a bit more information about something which should be straight forward.

But, given that I still haven’t, as of 23 October, had that information, it seems a little premature.

I’ve also decided that I’m going to give those on the other end of this frustrating quest for information a break. After all, this past week they have basically admitted that there’s some way to go with communication within the States of Jersey.

Because a new director of communications – Stephen Hardwick – has been brought in from the UK as part of a four-man (he’s actually the only male, interestingly) ‘transition team’ tasked with taking a long hard look at our public sector. He will be looking at communication with the media but also the public, and naturally one would assume within the States itself too.

The idea, thanks to new States chief executive Charlie Parker, is that over the next six months this transition team will help to spearhead a back-to-basics review of what is and is not working and make changes where necessary.

Oh, and it’s costing taxpayers between £1,200 and £1,300 per day, plus flights and accommodation per each one of those four.

It’s pretty serious stuff therefore. And no one should be under any illusions that things aren’t going to be tough within the States over the next few months.

Outgoing chief executive John Richardson has already asked, and been allowed, to leave early. Presumably he, like many other States workers, doesn’t really want to be there when things start getting torn to shreds.

Because, if first impressions prove correct, by all accounts this transition team means business, and there is very likely to be some shredding going on.

And, as we can see by the way they have arrived (before the chief exec is even properly in post) and the way it was announced (media being summoned that morning to a ‘top secret’ briefing just a few hours later with staff being told the same day) it certainly is not going to be without its drama.

The assurances from the chief exec about taking people with them, making changes with people not to them and so on and so forth are all well and good.

But that team is here to make waves, and they have started churning up the sea already.

If it is balanced correctly and everyone treated with the respect they deserve – both permanent and ‘transition’ staff – it has the potential to be a very good thing.

Proper change is needed in the system. And we knew that even before the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry said so.

But now there’s the very real threat of ignoring not only a hugely respected inquiry team and a process which cost tens of millions of pounds, but also in doing so of appearing not to be taking the highly emotive subject of child abuse seriously.

In some ways the stars have aligned, as it were, to offer a unique opportunity to actually get things done this time.

Hopefully it will also prove useful that the team of consultants are ‘outsiders’, with fresh perspectives and without a hint of the ‘Jersey Way’.

But, they should still proceed with a degree of caution.

Jersey is not the UK, and Islanders do not like it to be treated as such.

The States of Jersey is utterly unique, as are the people within it and those who it works for, and that should not be forgotten or ignored.

There’s certain issues that press our buttons (immigration, dogs on beaches, sea lettuce, GST/VAT, fog), and certain things that we are sick of hearing about (States reform, the new hospital and ‘workforce modernisation’).

We like breakfast, lunch and dinner by the sea, complaining about planes/boats/traffic that we don’t have, supporting anything marketed as Genuine Jersey and passionately insisting that all goods and services are sourced locally where possible (unless it’s cheaper online).

Everything is Senator Philip Ozouf’s fault in some way or another.

Tractors won’t slow down for you, even in green lanes. Few buses will either come to think of it. But car drivers will let you out all the time, even on roundabouts.

And, above all, history has taught us to be very wary of external consultants, particularly those that come with hefty price tags.