Ensuring people don't end up filling out the same form a dozen times and getting decent service from a call centre should be straightforward. But the man tasked by Gordon Brown to improve the customer experience of public services sees a tough task ahead. Sir David Varney says: ‘It's not rocket science; it's far harder than that.' His interview with The MJ coincides with publication of a report by the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) on how to modernise public services. Sir David has been leading on the initiative at the Cabinet Office to deliver both efficiency savings and a better experience for customers. If anyone is capable of delivering then Sir David is the man, given his track record as the former chief of a global mobile phone company [see biography]. The report, called Front Office Shared Services (FOSS): delivering public service transformation 2008, advocates shared contact points and shared data systems across local authorities and government agencies such as the DWP. The IDeA has been working on this with the CLG, the Cabinet Office and local authorities on 16 pilot projects to establish best practice. Sir David is encouraged by what he has found: ‘There's a lot of good stuff going on. A lot of this agenda is still to play for. No one authority has arrived at one answer; a lot have got bits of the answer. ‘In some places we've been very successful in driving down economic poverty but what that's revealed is a number of groups with a more ingrained set of problems.' He echoes problems raised by Lord Laming in his inquiry into Victoria Climbie: ‘One case we saw was a family with four children where the there was a parenting order. They were seeing 10 different agencies including housing, schools and the police. 'No-one was talking to each other so the family fell through the cracks. A case worker acceptable to everyone found the core problem was a housing issue.' He argues sharing information can deliver better outcomes and save money. He highlights local government is already working with DWP on the ‘Tell Us Once' pilot on how to help people following a bereavement. ‘On average you need nine copies of a death certificate for different agencies. This is about putting the citizen at the centre. Different parts of the system, with a legitimate need, have taken a stove pipe approach over the years based on what their part of the problem looked like.' Sensitive handling of data has become a thorny issue for the Government and one Sir David says must be solved: ‘What's unfortunate is that there's not been a real debate about why we need to share this information across the public sector. ‘We've got to start on the understanding that it is the citizen who owns the data about themselves. That said, this is a private sector issue as well.' One breakthrough he believes will be benchmarking local authority call centres so they compare with the best. He says: ‘Some are as good as the private sector but we've got to improve the performance and use telephoney to a better effect.' Sir David points to successes in the 101 alternative emergency number run with the Home Office but accepts the end of funding has stifled progress. He says: ‘That's an issue. The question is how do we create a framework which is enabling without becoming a cookie slicer. We will see more differences as councils pursue their approaches on this.' Sir David sums up: ‘It's what will deliver the best for the citizen as a service user, as a taxpayer and those providing services.' Ultimately he warns against people focusing on output rather than outcomes but believes he is simply advocating a return to the core values of local government. ‘In the end these sorts of issues are going to require partnerships between the centre and the locality as well as the private sector to deliver better outcomes.' ‘At the end of the day what it's about is serving the citizen better.' Biography Sir David Varney has advised HM Treasury on ways to transform the delivery of public services in the UK. He was Chairman of HM Revenue and Customs from its creation in April 2005 until August 2006. Before that he was Chairman of MM02, the leading mobile telecommunications giant, from its creation in May 2001. He was previously CEO of BG Group (formerly British Gas) and he held a variety of senior roles in Shell. He was also chairman of Business in the Community from 2002 to 2004. The Report recommends: Rationalisation of the number of public sector websites and contact centres Accreditation of public sector contact centres Better management of physical assets ‘Local government will have to look more closely at how it co-ordinates the information and services available. ‘We also need to look at how we can work more effectively with our local public sector partners and nationally led projects, to help remove duplication both for the customer and for the different agencies.' For more details go to www.idea.gov.uk/foss
