Annual Report & Accounts 1998 - 1999

Annual Review of Activity

Running the Agency

The Agency continues to develop and modernise its ways of working in response to the challenges identified in this Report. This will not only enable it to fulfil its role in the communications revolution but also its ambition to be a model of forward-looking management in the Government sphere.

Alison Korzec, Manager of Internal Communication, with the IiP accreditation certificate.

Management Framework and Culture The Agency's management framework has continued to evolve. More specifically: it has embedded the reorganisation into Business Units which has created an effective internal structure with improved strengths in communications, planning and accountability. This structure continues to develop where necessary to reflect changing needs and priorities; the Management Board has taken steps to sharpen its potential to address key strategic decisions. The annual planning process is being modified to ensure that strategic input can be made in the most timely and effective way; the Agency Steering Board has welcomed a new member with a particular background in Human Resources. The Agency is committed to a culture based on providing service to customers. Its performance against external targets is set out elsewhere in this Report. Internal customer service targets are being developed and will feature in future assessments of performance. Internal customer service awards are already available to those who are recognised, under current arrangements, as providing particularly effective support to other staff.

Investors in People

The Agency met its target to achieve accreditation to the standard and was recognised as an Investor in People on 4 March 1999. This is regarded as a significant achievement for the organisation and its people. The Agency has shown that it has successfully used the standard as a framework to improve its training and development actions, so that measurable objectives are linked to Agency goals at organisation, Business Unit and individual level. The Agency plans to build on this success by looking at ways to maintain a culture of continuous improvement over the next 12 months and will seek re-recognition during the year 2000.

Internal Communications

The Agency progresses towards the next millennium with a business focus in which effective communications form an integral part. Plans are being developed to consider ways of developing a continuous and effective flow of two-way information that fits with the Agency's key objectives and priorities and demonstrates continuing commitment to the principles of Investors in People. Focus groups that represent a cross-section of Agency staff will meet regularly to monitor progress.

The Management Board has given approval to an audit of the organisation's communications processes during autumn 1999. This work will assess the impact of communication throughout the Agency and will assist in the development and future implementation of measurement systems and standards for internal communications. A key objective for 1999/2000 will be to introduce an Agency-wide intranet as part of the drive for improvement.

Radiocommunications Specialists

During the year the Agency carried out a review of its grading structure for the telecommunications officer and professional and technology officer classes. This led to the combining of these two streams into a single group comprising seven pay ranges plus a training band, entitled Radio-communication Specialists. The majority of relevant staff were allocated to these ranges and the remaining staff will be allocated to ranges in 1999/2000. The new structure offers staff greater flexibility and improved opportunities for promotion.

The Agency is participating in the Radio Frequency Engineers' Education Initiative which has more than 20 participating organisations, including DTI manu-facturers and operators. The objective is to increase the number of graduates with radio engineering expertise. The Agency has made arrangements to award prizes for the best final year undergraduate project which has a significant radio element at a number of Universities. Recipient Universities are Bradford, Bristol, Leeds, York, Portsmouth, Southampton and Surrey.

Equal Opportunities

The Agency is an Equal Opportunities employer, and several important developments have taken place this year. The Chief Executive, David Hendon, accepted the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) "Leadership Challenge", which invites him to give a personal lead in promoting the principles of racial equality; and "A Charter for Action to Redress Under-representation", a Cabinet Office initiative, committed to redressing under-representation and assuring equality in employment in the Senior Civil Service. An advisory Group for Racial Equality (REAG), chaired by Mohan S. Dhamrait and comprised of 15 voluntary staff members from ethnic minority groups, was set up in January with the purpose of ensuring that there is no racial discrimination within the Agency.

Health and Safety

The Agency issued a new H & S policy document during the year and took the opportunity to review its H & S infrastructure. The review resulted in a strengthening of the H & S teams both in HQ and in relation to the regional services, and of the links between them. Other measures included a requirement to make periodic reports to the Agency Steering Board.

Information Systems

The Agency's ground-breaking strategic partnership with Radio Spectrum International (RSI) was launched in June 1998, as noted above. The transition has proceeded well and has laid the ground for the launch of major new systems in 1999/2000, including the new unified licensing system, RULES. Careful attention is being paid to ensuring that the partnership provides the anticipated value for money. Initiatives in the coming year will include an Agency intranet and more flexible access to the Internet. The Agency is fully committed to the Government's targets for electronic service delivery.

Year 2000 Compliance

Working with RSI, the Agency has maintained earlier progress towards fully achieving its Year 2000 (Y2K) compliance objectives for its IT systems and infrastructure on schedule by June 1999. The work programme was subject to formal scrutiny by DTI Internal Audit who reported their satisfaction in January. More recently, the Agency was praised in the Cabinet Office Taskforce 2000 report for progress with its Y2K programme which now includes a Business Continuity Plan to cover failures arising from potential Y2K failures outside the Agency's control.

Accommodation

The Agency is scheduled to return to its Headquarters in London Docklands in August 1999. This has been restored after the Docklands bombing and promises to provide a working environment well tailored to the Agency's needs. It will include facilities to run the Spectrum Auction for Third Generation mobile telecommunications.

Planned Reviews

In the light of experience during 1998/99, specific reviews of internal business to be launched in the coming year will include:

financial efficiency - the basis on which the Agency's efficiency is measured requires review following the introduction of spectrum pricing;

Information Systems Strategy - against the background of rapid change, both in terms of the business environment and the availability of new technologies, and the establishment of the Agency's strategic partnership with RSI;

Management Information - both the quality and coverage of the information available to help manage the Agency.

Employee Relations The Whitley forum continues to meet regularly, bringing together both management and trade union representatives in a constructive dialogue on a wide range of issues. Performance targets have been set for the circulation of action points and draft minutes to members of the forum, which will enhance the communication process. The Agency Trade Union Side (ATUS) comments: "The Agency Whitley and Health and Safety Committees continue to provide platforms for formal interchange of ideas between management and unions about staff development and reward as we move into the 21st century. Contacts, formal and informal, outside those meetings on a range of topics helped both sides understand respective positions and assisted the evolution of Agency structures to meet the needs of its staff - the most notable example being the reinstatement of the full time Health and Safety Officer post to provide focus on safety matters. Discussions on the impact on staff of the return to Docklands were improved by the establishment of two sub-committees to consider the level of assistance to staff to help overcome difficulties caused by relocation, and to liaise on building fit-out, both of which were supported by ATUS participation."

Wyndham House, theAgency's new Docklands headquarters.

TABLE 7: STAFF NUMBERS

Footnotes

(1) Part time workers are counted on the basis of hours worked.
(2) 13 RSI Secondees.

TABLE 8: GENDER, ETHNIC and DISABILITY DATA 1998/99

Exceptions

During 1998/99 the Agency made use of the following permitted exceptions to fair and open competition: a short-term appointment was extended beyond 12 months (to 17 months) to enable the appointee to complete the special project being worked on.

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