IT not the only key to government efficiency

One of the UK's highest profile public sector IT bosses has spoken of the need to see beyond IT in overhauling public services, a view backed up by several of his peers today.

HM Revenue & Customs CIO Steve Lamey, appointed to that post last September, said he was surprised to hear, at the time he took over, how many Inland Revenue letters wouldn't reach their intended recipients - and that it even took him time to dig up the statistic on how many are sent each year.

He has identified a long list of challenges facing the combined tax entity, which came together from the merger of Customs & Excise and the Inland Revenue.

"Business process management is the key to efficiency," he said. "IT is a massive stimulator but not the only thing."

Keynoting at the Government UK IT Summit 2005 in London, he spoke several times about having "killer KPIs", referring to key performance indicators that many organisations use to improve how they operate.

Having IT goals in isolation is not the right way forward, was the clear message.

His views were widely backed by other users within the public sector, who are also feeling a change in providing services.

Some see the move to self-service as significant.

Stephen Hickey, director general DVO Group at the Department for Transport, said on a users panel: "The public sector is going through the same changes as supermarkets 30 years ago - it's about self-service," he said. "It's not just about taking cost out but empowering [citizens]."

Others point to shared services - where government departments or units don't reinvent the wheel - as an answer.

"But you can be hamstrung by the shared services agenda," added Lamey, saying the private sector - his background - demands faster change and even with the best will, cultural differences can make shared services difficult.

Andrew Budge, corporate services workstream leader at the OGC, said collaboration may be desirable and has been successful in cases but may not always be appropriate. "The vast majority of the public sector is not in central government," he said, alluding to the difficulty of finding some problems in common.

Outsourcing was also raised again in relation to public sector efficiency. While it has had its critics - and there are all types of examples, good and bad, of public sector outsourcing - Budge pointed to the example of Xansa working with the NHS.

"Xansa have brought rigour and consistency of process design, as well as marketing expertise," he said. "The private sector can bring something to the table but outsourcing per se is not the answer."