Binning Bad News: Health Minister Edwina Hart 'withheld NHS report'

Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams produced the document in the Senedd

Health Minister Edwina Hart has been accused of withholding a consultants' report which criticises the Welsh Assembly government's NHS leadership.

Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams made the accusation in the Senedd, producing a McKinsey document.

Mrs Hart had previously said there was "no formal document for scrutiny".

The assembly government said Mrs Hart misled no-one, there was no McKinsey report, and the document was an example of "numerous inputs and analysis".

The consultants' conclusions were made public by Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams during First Minister's Questions.

She asked First Minister Carwyn Jones how he explained "the existence of this report, which I have here, commissioned by his health minister, written by McKinsey and company".

She said the report described the assembly government's strategic objectives as 'too numerous and are not prioritised so that none or the wrong objectives are implemented'."

Ms Williams said the health minister had previously stated there was no McKinsey report and accused her of having "misled" AMs and the people of Wales by not publishing the "damning" report.

Mr Jones asked Ms Williams to write to him if she had any complaint about earlier statements given by the health minister. 'Five-year plan'

In a later statement, a spokesman for the Welsh Assembly Government said: "The (health) minister has not misled anyone. There is no McKinsey report. "

Edwina Hart did not mislead anyone, says the assembly government

The spokesman said the document produced by Ms Williams was "one such example" of "numerous inputs and analysis" which formed part of a five-year plan for the NHS.

He added: "The minister has been transparent throughout the whole process."

The McKinsey document made public by the Welsh Liberal Democrats identified criticisms of the way strategies have been implemented in the Welsh health service.

It said: "Our discussions have highlighted several reasons why strategy implementations have fallen short in Wales."

It noted:

• strategic objectives are too numerous and not prioritised, so none or the wrong ones are implemented
• a gap between policy leads and operational delivery
• strategic objectives are politically unviable
• implementation lacks accountability
• initiatives are financially unaffordable
• lack of capability to deliver
  

The document also made a number of recommendations to make savings. These included:

• prevent interventions of limited clinical value
• transfer cost of non-essential items items to patients (e.g nicotine patches)
• shut elective care over Christmas period
• require non-clinical nursing staff to cover shifts
• reduce staffing levels e.g overtime
• freeze pay spend (in certain areas).

Analysis by Vaughan Roderick Welsh Affairs Editor

The row that's erupted over the McKinsey analysis of the Welsh health service is basically a battle of semantics.

For the Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams, it was an open and shut case. The health minister had denied the existence of a report by the management consultants in two written answers to AMs earlier this year.

Her industrious staff then unearthed a 60-page document written by McKinsey, which she flourished theatrically in front of First Minister Carwyn Jones.

The assembly government's defence is clear and specific. It is not a report, merely a document which was part of a much wider five year framework for the NHS as a whole.

In a sense, you pays your money and you takes your choice.

But document or report, Mr Jones looked uncomfortable, and it's an early political hit for the Lib Dem leader on the first day of the new term.

Hearing on pay equality in the Department for Transport

Preperations are made for a tribunal hearing on pay equality in the Department for Transport (DfT).

The case involves Executive Officers (EO) in the Driver and vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) who are seeking equal pay with driving examiners from the Driving Standards Agency (DSA).

For information, EOs are paid up to £5k less than examiners, even though they do work of equal value. The hearing is expected to be over a few weeks with an estimate end date of 22 May 2009.

The DfT's Defence:

... is one of arguing that the DVLA and DSA are seperate organisations whose pay is determined from different sources.

The other side:

This ignores the fact that both agencies are based within the DfT which is overseen by the Treasury which controls Civil Service pay. Unions have argues that if this defence is succesful, it will be used across the civil service to block equal pay claims.

Civil servants take 10 'freebies' each

The Daily Telegraph reports that figures to be disclosed today will show that supposedly impartial mandarins, many in charge of departments with large Whitehall budgets, have repeatedly been entertained by firms.

The Daily Telegraph has been told that around 180 civil servants will be named in a list published today. It will detail approximately 1,800 items in total that have been declared by Whitehall employees - an average of 10 trips for each official.

The hospitality mainly covers lunches, dinners and receptions. However, there is also more lavish entertainment including high-profile international rugby matches and other sporting events.

Invites to other exclusive occasions, like the opera and the Chelsea Flower Show, that make up the circuit of hospitality events, was also accepted.

Among those who have been offering the "freebies" were banks, financial consultancies and news organisations.

It comes as ministers seek to clamp down on civil servants who accept hospitality from lobbyists and companies seeking to influence legislation. The recent "Lords for hire" scandal has heightened the need for tighter control among those in Whitehall and Westminster.

In view of Wales being firmly part of the UK and its public servants largely forming part of the UK public sector/civil service, I wonder if any of the 'Cathays Park hundreds' would like to come clean as they form part of the Home Civil Service?

Welsh Assembly Government: Money for old rope

Couldn't help but post on news that has proved me, and many others right when posting back in October 2008.

The new civil service layer of Director General civil servants have now been appointed in the Welsh Assembly Government. As previously mentioned, this is part of the new Permanent Secretary's [Gillian Morgan] managment structure, which does have some merits and has seen some backing of those higher up and lower down in the Cathays Park food chain.

But of these new posts that bring an ample award of around £130,000 a year, three have rather strangely (hint of sarcasm identified) gone to internal candidates, some of who it has to be said are not exactly showered in management praise and glory. For some unknown reason a £55,000 + recruitment exercise has ended up employing three people already employed internally at the next grade down in the senior civil service [Head of Department].

One appointment does disturb me slightly.

Civil Servants are not perfect, but to appoint a man who has masterminded and single-handedly steered the staff of the Welsh Assembly Government towards a largely disappointing performance management system; the ASPB merger which led to unequal status among civil servants of the same grade; not to mention equal opportunities and other fiascos (take your pick), is largely a disgraceful act.

It is generally agreed among staff that Human Resources policy has been a disaster and particularly since 2006 - in short, a disaster since appointment. If this was a newspaper headline it would read, "Overall Head of Recruitment Gets Recruited". Surprise!

If it wasn't for my planned family holiday, this unwelcome news of neo-nepotism would have me sick to my Welsh core.

The Welsh Assembly Government has announced the appointment of new Director Generals and a Non Executive Director to its new senior management board - known as the Strategic Delivery and Performance Board.

Clive Bates (aged 47) is currently Head of the United Nations Environment Programme in Sudan and has been appointed Director General for Sustainable Futures.

Christine Daws is being promoted from her current post as Director of Finance to the Welsh Assembly Government to the new Finance Director General position.

Emyr Roberts will take up the post of Director General for Public Services and Local Government Delivery. He is currently Director of the Department for Social Justice and Local Government and has extensive experience which includes a period as Chief Executive of the Welsh European Funding Office.

Bernard Galton has been appointed as Director General for People, Places and Corporate Services following five years as Director of HR at the Welsh Assembly Government and a long career as an HR professional, primarily within the Ministry of Defence.

James Turner will replace Sir Adrian Webb as a Non Executive Director. Mr Turner has had an international business career and joined the Welsh Development Agency in the mid 1990’s as International Managing Director. Ten years ago, he established his own consultancy business undertaking board-level interim assignments and in this capacity was interim Chief Executive at the Arts Council of Wales during 2007. An experienced Non Executive Director, James Turner has served on the boards of a number of private companies and public sector organisations.

The appointments follow a tough recruitment process involving external assessors and complete the new, smaller and more focused Strategic Delivery and Performance Board which Permanent Secretary Dame Gillian Morgan announced in October 2008.

Gill Morgan said:
I’m really pleased to have completed recruitment to this new, smaller Board with the appointment of very high calibre people. I believe a smaller senior team will help us reduce complexity in the organisation and make it easier for us to join up across portfolios. Now more than ever we need to be able to support Ministers in tackling the things that make the most difference to the people of Wales.

First Minister Rhodri Morgan said:
My warmest congratulations to Emyr and Bernard. Their appointments complete a line-up of strong management serving the Welsh Assembly Government through the challenging times we face.

The new Board will be in place by the beginning of April. Chaired by the Permanent Secretary, the Board will include six Director Generals (DGs), together with the Chief Executive of the NHS.

The changes will be accomplished within existing resources and there will be no additional cost to the organisation's running cost budget.