Stephen Kelly
Chief Operating Officer for HM Government
What were your biggest policy and delivery challenges in 2013? How did you handle them?
In the Efficiency and Reform Group, we’re here to deliver savings for the taxpayer, whilst also improving public services – and we want to do all this in a way that promotes growth in the UK economy.
So, we want to create digital services that are so good that people and businesses prefer to use them. If we can do that, we will also save significant amounts of money. We are stripping out unnecessary costs, eliminating waste, and making sure every pound of taxpayer money is spent for maximum return.
Finally, we want to deliver these vastly better public services in a way that provokes growth in the economy. We want the flexibility to work with the most innovative growing businesses, which can go on to create jobs and prosperity if we tear down the barriers and reduce the cost of bidding for government contracts.
This year, we’ve made good progress – illustrated most clearly by £10bn of savings, our award-winning digital team at GDS, the Major Projects Authority’s ‘built to last’ agenda, and the continued increase in public sector mutuals, joint ventures and contracts for growing companies.
Where have you made the most progress in implementing the Civil Service Reform Plan, and what are your reform priorities for 2014?
The civil service can play a crucial role in creating the best government, making space for the private sector and helping UK plc to move ahead in the global race – and our reform plan sets out a clear roadmap for how we make that happen. Growing the leadership, commercial, digital, and project delivery capability will create a civil service able to deliver with quality and velocity.
Announcing £10bn of savings in June shone the spotlight on some of the great work happening in departments, and it shows how the UK Civil Service is at the heart of a competent government. Civil servants delivered these savings by, for example, cracking down on the use of consultants and contractors, driving competition in government bids, and exiting 500,000 square metres of property – equivalent to 200 Wembleys!
Next year, high up the list will be getting the Crown Commercial Service up and running, and seeing some of our innovations in shared services and mutuals taking shape as separate entities that taxpayers have a stake in.
What are your key challenges in the last year of the Parliament? How will you tackle them?
We’re working hard to make sure this work is sustainable and becomes part of the civil service DNA. We think we are pursuing an agenda that is built to last – it’s hard to argue with the idea of better public services delivered at a better cost –but we will only prove ourselves by continuing to deliver.
Digital public service will remain a priority. We want this to be the most digital government in history, and GDS is now working with brilliant digital teams within departments to revolutionise transactions between the users and the state. Next year, we will see more of the exemplar services coming to life.
What would you most like Santa to bring you this year? And what should he take away?
I am a massive fan of Christmas, and love seeing the joy in the faces of children. In work, Santa could bring us renewed energy for the Quiet Revolution of positive changes… and I would like him to take away unnecessary bureaucracy and emails!