Latest news with #BoleySmillie
BBC News
21-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
New clinical care unit 'will not open any time soon'
A new clinical care unit at Guernsey's Princess Elizabeth Hospital "will not open any time soon", the island's top civil servant has June, the BBC revealed the opening of the unit had been the project, which made up phase one of the hospital modernisation project, was scheduled to be completed by autumn 2024. States of Guernsey chief executive Boley Smillie said: "There are issues that need to be resolved, issues I cannot talk about unfortunately." The BBC understands problems with the installation of new ventilation units and the placement of some walls have caused some of the delays. Health and Social Care President George Oswald said during the last political term there was no political oversight of the project. Mr Smillie admitted the States needed to be more transparent, but said commercial relationships sometimes got in the way of that: "There is always reasons why we have to deal with things behind the scenes."But you know there's no hiding from the fact that we've got to do better on some of these projects." In a speech to a local think tank Mr Smillie, who has been in post since January, said the States struggled with accountability. "When it comes to large projects, accountability starts to dilute."Some people are stretched across too many projects, we need people to be focused on delivering outcomes and that works very well in some areas, in some areas we have got to hold our hands up so we can do better."Despite the problems, he focussed on recent successes, when it came to delivering big projects. "The Liberation Day celebration took a lot of organisation. "The election whilst people talk about the results and whether island-wide voting is a good thing or a bad thing, actually the operation of the election was brilliantly run by officers."We were declaring results much earlier than anyone would have expected of us, so there's lots to be proud of and lots to be positive about. "What we have got to do better on those large-scale projects is be more outcome-focused we have got to make sure that accountability and responsibility is clear, as it is not as clear as it could be."
BBC News
19-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Changed needed with Guernsey's revenue service
The current revenue service is "a difficult place for people to work", Guernsey's new chief executive of the States has Smillie said the service in charge of personal income tax was "clearly not performing well" or where the states would "like it to be at the moment".The department has been criticised for its lack of public trust and IT issues causing delayed tax returns being processed. Smillie said the staff, which were "on the frontline", worked hard "in the circumstances that they find themselves in". He said: "We need to equip those people to make sure they've got the right tools to do the job and they will do a cracking job. "They've got some great ideas, some brilliant initiatives and I'm absolutely sure if we empower them and give them the opportunity to change things and help themselves we'll see a dramatic improvement." Mr Smillie said although morale was "low", staff members were "optimistic" with the plans going into the said: "They really care about the service they provide, there's absolute acknowledgement it's not where it needs to be and they have lots of ideas."In terms of the systems that we have, the technology that we've deployed, it's just not working in a way that they need in order to provide a good service."The chief executive said change would take time and that it had to happen "from the bottom, up".He said: "The thing I'm really pleased about is we've got a group of people that are kind of really, really up for that and that's the kind of case study I'd like to create within the public services. "We've got a very good, difficult situation that we wouldn't necessarily want to be in but the advantage we've got to take from that is when we start to demonstrate change, it will be an example we continue to use to others."
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
States of Guernsey to axe IT provider
The States of Guernsey is set to axe its contract with IT infrastructure company Agilisys by the end of July - half way through its 10-year tenure. It follows a critical report of Agilisys' digital services across a range of government departments, published earlier this year. The move will see IT provided by multiple providers which the States said would improve accountability and the reliability of services for islanders. Agilisys has been approached for comment. The Policy & Resources Committee (P&R) said the decision to terminate the current contract was unanimous and in the "best interests of the States, and the wider community which relies on the many IT systems we have for the effective delivery of public services". Boley Smillie, chief executive and head of the public service, said the move would ensure better value for money for taxpayers. Mr Smillie said switching to a "multi-vendor model" would deliver better specialist services. He said: "We must keep pace with digital solutions that the community not only expects but deserves, solutions that make our services more efficient, and responsive to the needs of the Bailiwick." Agilisys signed a £200m contract for the delivery of the majority of States IT services in 2019 but faced major IT outages and concerns over the number of staff with technical expertise to deliver service. Gé Drossaert, The States' chief digital and information officer, said: "This new model will increase supplier accountability to deliver, unlike the current model where we have been reliant on one provider only, as we will have relationships with a range of providers." The States said it was currently in discussions behind the scenes with a range of providers to take on the work and this would be announced at a later date. Follow BBC Guernsey on X and Facebook. Send your story ideas to 'Serious mistakes' in handling of IT contract Old kit and lack of maintenance behind IT outages Policy & Resources Committee
BBC News
23-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
States of Guernsey to axe IT provider Agilysis
The States of Guernsey is set to axe its contract with IT infrastructure company Agilisys by the end of July - half way through its 10-year tenure. It follows a critical report of Agilisys' digital services across a range of government departments, published earlier this move will see IT provided by multiple providers which the States said would improve accountability and the reliability of services for has been approached for comment. The Policy & Resources Committee (P&R) said the decision to terminate the current contract was unanimous and in the "best interests of the States, and the wider community which relies on the many IT systems we have for the effective delivery of public services".Boley Smillie, chief executive and head of the public service, said the move would ensure better value for money for taxpayers. Mr Smillie said switching to a "multi-vendor model" would deliver better specialist said: "We must keep pace with digital solutions that the community not only expects but deserves, solutions that make our services more efficient, and responsive to the needs of the Bailiwick." 'Increase supplier accountability' Agilisys signed a £200m contract for the delivery of the majority of States IT services in 2019 but faced major IT outages and concerns over the number of staff with technical expertise to deliver service.Gé Drossaert, The States' chief digital and information officer, said: "This new model will increase supplier accountability to deliver, unlike the current model where we have been reliant on one provider only, as we will have relationships with a range of providers."The States said it was currently in discussions behind the scenes with a range of providers to take on the work and this would be announced at a later date.
