Carwyn Jones, First Minister
This was published under the 2011 to 2016 administration of the Welsh Government
We stated in our Manifesto “Standing up for Wales” that we would establish a First Minister’s Delivery Unit at the heart of the Welsh Government that would focus on our core agenda and ensure integrated and streamlined delivery of strategic government priorities. We want to be able at any given time to evaluate what impact our policies are having to be sure that we are delivering the outcomes that really matter to the citizens of Wales.
The Delivery Unit will be staffed by civil servants, reporting directly to me on the progress and effectiveness of each department towards delivering the government’s priorities. It will be primarily an inward facing team which will add value and rigour – it will not be doing the jobs of others for them nor will it impose bureaucratic burden.
Since I will be taking personal responsibility for delivery of the Welsh Government’s programme the Delivery Unit’s work programme will be a matter for me. It will concentrate its effort on our key manifesto commitments and priorities. It will provide me with periodic delivery reports on each of the government’s priority areas to enable me to hold Ministers and departments to account for progress.
The First Minister’s Delivery Unit will be accommodated on the 5th floor of Ty Hywel but will be part of Michael Hearty’s Strategic Planning, Finance and Performance Directorate. The unit is currently being established and will be operational from the beginning of September. It will be funded from existing Departmental Running Costs and staffed by existing civil servants seconded from other parts of the Welsh Government. The unit will be headed by a Deputy Director and when fully staffed comprise no more than 7 members.
The role of the First Minister’s Delivery Unit will be to:-
- Ensure that all parts of the Welsh Government are playing their part to deliver the Welsh Government’s policy objectives against measureable and transparent targets.
- Produce delivery reports for each department about performance on the Welsh Government’s key priorities against measurable outcomes which would show whether or not they were on track to achieve them.
- Provide challenge, based on evidence.
- Remove barriers and support cross-departmental working on cross-cutting issues.
- Ensure systems are in place to find out what impact policies are having at ground level and to provide early identification of emerging problems or obstacles to progress.