Nothing is more important to the Government than delivering first class public services. And frontline staff are the key change-makers in any public service organisation. I am delighted that the Lord Chancellor's Department is involving people at every level to find better ways to serve all of its many customers and users.
| If you have any comments on our change programme please email the Change Team. |
The change will start at the top.
There new Corporate Board met for the first time on 30 January 2003. Each member has, from different roles, a whole departmental responsibility; a senior team with collective and corporate responsibility for all of the business of the Department. They each manage corporate functions on behalf of their colleagues and new initiatives and projects need involvement and engagement from all of them.
The Board consists of:
Sir Hayden Phillips - Permanent Secretary (biographical details)
Simon Ball - Director General Finance (biographical details to follow shortly). Responsible for top level strategic financial management, spending controls and leading on spending reviews and liaison with the Treasury.
John Lyon - Director General Legal and Judicial Services and Secretary of Commissions (biographical details to follow shortly). Responsible for managing the interface with the judiciary (including appointments) and the legal professions and the provision of legal advice within the Department.
Ian Magee - Chief Executive Operations (biographical details to follow shortly). Responsible for delivery and the governance of all the Department's executive agencies and executive Non Departmental Public Bodies
Jonathan Spencer - Director General Clients and Policy (biographical details to follow shortly). Responsible for strategic policy development and designing policies around customers' needs
The Board will:
help the Lord Chancellor and his Ministers set the agenda for the whole Department, including the priorities to which you will all work.
ensure that we have a coherent delivery programme that we are capable of delivering.
ensure that resources follow these priorities and that managers and staff at all levels are equipped to deliver them.
demand processes and systems that work to deliver these ends.
require support services like HR, finance, IT, procurement and estates management that are expert and provide high levels of internal customer service.
The Board's first task is to set the agenda for the Spending Review (SR) 2002 period, including taking a hard look not just at what needs to be done, but at what needs to stop being done. It is also preparing for SR 2004.
Bernadette Kenny, our Departmental Change Director, is working across the Department to deliver the change. Her team is working with people to change how we work with each other and to begin the process of building capability. The Change Team is ensuring the whole programme is coherent and drives forward to achievement of the overall aim.
Managers throughout the Department are leading key 'strands' of work - such as developing customer and client focus in the delivery of all our services.
Some specific work is already in hand to change how we work in line with the Change Programme:
Performance management - Compatible, simplified staff appraisal and performance pay systems across the Department. Emphasis on continuous feedback rather than just annual box marking. New standard setting, skills and behaviours matched to wider department. Enhanced reward and recognition schemes.
Team Briefing System - Systematic, face to face team briefing by managers across the Department providing staff with key information on Departmental issues and feedback channel.
Leadership Programme - Meeting the needs of the Department and individual participants; identifying specific qualities everyone has to offer; supporting the DCP and all of us through this period of change.
This is the start of changing how we work in the new LCD.
For our customers we will:
Listen, care about their needs and help meet them
Follow problems through to solutions
Manage risks to transform service delivery
Anticipate and adapt rapidly to change
Learn from others to deliver added value
For our colleagues we will:
Work in teams, co-operating with colleagues inside and outside LCD in the customers' interest
Listen to and respect each other's ideas
Learn from mistakes, avoid blame, recognise that we must take managed risks to transform delivery
For ourselves we will:
Take charge of our own personal development, understand the competences we need and use every opportunity to develop them
Take responsibility to keep informed and up-to-date
For everyone we will:
Be enthusiastic, make a positive contribution to change, contribute ideas, criticise constructively
Make sure we understand and make our contribution to service delivery whether our customers are inside or outside the LCD
Be confident, helping the LCD to make best use of our talents
Be open and honest in everything we do.
Key outcomes from our Change Programme will be to transform LCD so it is able to achieve the following on an ongoing and sustainable basis: