EVERYTHING from applying for a new passport and paying States bills to getting married and letting States departments know you have tied the knot should soon be quicker and easier.

In the next six months, the States is to start root-and-branch reform of the way it delivers services to Islanders as part of a huge programme of change.

Not only is the reform, which follows a States-wide review of how things are done, being driven to save money, it is also aiming to use technology – including emails, the internet, Apps and text messaging – to bring the way it interacts with the population up to date.

The vision for a less bureaucratic and more efficient public sector was outlined by States chief executive John Richardson, the Island’s most senior civil servant, when he addressed the Chamber of Commerce yesterday at its monthly lunch.