Delivery Council
One of the constant collective challenges facing public service leaders is to find ways in which public service organisations can achieve greater and better collaboration whilst retaining clear accountabilities for results. The Delivery Council provides a mechanism through which those with Board level oversight of delivery can meet this challenge
Remit
The Council provides expert input into cross-cutting agendas supporting the transformation of Government and the building of capacity in delivery skills and competencies specifically in relation to:
- the Transformational Government strategy [External website] to drive citizen and business centred services (in which it supersedes the Service Transformation Board) through key actions
- the Council’s appointment by the Cabinet Secretary and Civil Service Steering Board to manage the Service Transformation programme, which includes the recommendations of Sir David Varney’s Service Transformation review [External website]
- the Professional Skills for Government (PSG) [External website] programme for Operational Delivery, and its linkages to the Policy Delivery and Corporate Services Delivery equivalents
- the work of the Delivery Unit in overseeing the Delivery of the Prime Minister’s top priority outcomes; in conducting the Cabinet Secretary’s Capability Review programme; and in the cross-cutting Delivery strategies which result
- the work of the Treasury in overseeing the delivery of PSA targets [External website] and in considering the delivery aspects of spending reviews, public sector productivity and efficiency
- (where appropriate) supporting Ministers and Councillors in the public communication of Delivery strategy and results
Ministerially, the Council comes under the wing of PSX(e), enabling the Chief Secretary to meet with it and takes its views.
Role of Members
Council members function as a self-empowered team, in which individuals:
- contribute to the development of common agendas on delivery issues, particularly in cross-cutting areas, and personally champion these back in their own organisations and wider areas of influence
- take a cross Government view whilst maintaining accountability for specific operations and programmes in their area
- facilitate and encourage learning from each other, and from each other’s organisations; and,
- develop their staff as professional assets for the public services as a whole, and devote a significant part of their personal time to developing the next generation
Operating Model
The Council has the following characteristics:
- it links to the Cabinet Secretary’s Civil Service Steering Group through a senior Permanent Secretary sponsor from the Steering Group who would also be a standing member of the Council;
- it will initially be co-chaired by the Head of the Delivery Unit whose team will provide secretariat and other full time support) and by the Head of the Operational Delivery profession;
- appointments are personal to the individual (rather than to the organisation) and will be made in agreement with relevant Permanent Secretaries and their equivalents in the wider public sector. Members should attend meetings in person, with deputies not normally allowed. Council Membership changes are exclusively the province of the full Council once it is established
- members will be expected to seek a collective view on key topics and recommendations. To inform this, subsets of the Council might complete pieces of work between meetings for discussion and individual members will be expected to give a proportion of their time to this end.
