Source · Select Committees · Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Ninth Report - Civil Service People Survey
Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
HC 575
Published 24 October 2023
Recommendations
2
Accepted
Para 15
Expand annual engagement with People Survey users and publish summary of feedback
Recommendation
The Cabinet Office should expand its annual engagement with users of the People Survey, to ensure that the needs of external stakeholders are well understood and used to support the development of future survey questionnaires. A summary of this engagement …
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Government Response Summary
The Cabinet Office accepts the recommendation, committing to consider wider engagement of external stakeholders, include consultees in future technical guides, and implement a user engagement strategy.
4
Accepted in Part
Report publicly on plans to develop broader Civil Service performance data evidence base.
Recommendation
To maximise the quality of information available on the experiences and performance of the UK Civil Service, the Cabinet Office - in partnership with participating organisations - should continue to develop the broader evidence base. The broad annual snapshots provided …
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Government Response Summary
The government accepts the recommendation to develop a broader evidence base, commissioning a review of existing data, developing a data dashboard, and committing to consider how to implement cross-government pulse surveys, though a public report on plans may not be available until early 2024.
5
Accepted
Para 23
Employee Engagement Index value unclear, overlooking tangible Civil Service issues.
Recommendation
It is not clear what value the Employee Engagement Index offers, beyond consistency with previous years’ results. In drawing together responses on abstract questions on issues such as pride, advocacy, and attachment, it overlooks more tangible issues such as leadership, …
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Government Response Summary
The Cabinet Office accepts the recommendation, committing to explore the content and usefulness of the Employee Engagement Index in wider work planned for the Civil Service People Survey. They are examining options to improve the survey, aiming to implement changes over the next two years for a new version by 2025.
6
Accepted
Review the value of the Employee Engagement Index for Civil Service decision-making.
Recommendation
Fourteen years on from the launch of the People Survey, the Cabinet Office should review the value of its headline Employee Engagement Index, in consultation with users of the survey. This review should consider the degree to which the measure …
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Government Response Summary
The Cabinet Office accepts the recommendation, stating it already reviewed the Employee Engagement Index in 2022 and will continue to explore its usefulness in wider work planned on the Survey beyond 2023, aiming for a new version in 2025.
7
Accepted
Summarise opportunities to enhance quality assurance processes for Civil Service performance data.
Recommendation
As part of its plan to improve available data on the experiences and performance of civil servants (see paragraph 20), the Cabinet Office should summarise the opportunities that are available for enhancing existing quality assurance processes via the cross- referencing …
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Government Response Summary
The Cabinet Office accepts the recommendation, committing to enhance quality assurance processes by continuing to 'sense check' current year scores against previous ones and cross-reference findings with similar organisations.
9
Rejected
Para 37
Publish initial People Survey results when distributed, before end of calendar year.
Recommendation
We recommend that in future, initial results from the People Survey (including median scores for each question for both the civil service, and individual participating organisations) be published at the point they are distributed to participants, and before the end …
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Government Response Summary
The Cabinet Office does not accept the recommendation to publish initial People Survey results at the point of distribution and before year-end. However, it commits to reducing the timing between internal and external distribution and will explore including release dates in the Research and Statistics calendar.
11
Rejected
Classify People Survey results as official statistics, complying with Code of Practice.
Recommendation
The People Survey is a dataset of significant public interest. In future, the People Survey results should be treated and classified as official statistics and be published in full compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics. The Cabinet Office …
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Government Response Summary
The Cabinet Office does not accept the recommendation to classify People Survey results as official statistics, arguing it is primarily a management tool. It commits to publishing high-level findings commentary and reducing timing between internal and external distribution, which is not the core of this recommendation.
13
Accepted
Para 55
Cabinet Office must coordinate and evaluate system-level issues identified in People Survey.
Recommendation
Empowering departments, organisations and individual teams to respond to issues raised in the People Survey is in many cases a sensible approach. They will be best placed to respond to local issues and specific challenges. But other issues require a …
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Government Response Summary
The Cabinet Office accepts the recommendation to enhance support provided around future People Surveys, recognising the need for a coordinating hand on system-level issues. They will consider how best to pool current resources, identify gaps, and cascade model policies and processes to assist departments in responding to survey findings.
14
Rejected
Para 56
Require departments to develop, report, and evaluate People Survey action plans in Annual Reports.
Recommendation
Departments themselves should develop action plans in response to future People Survey results, which define measurable and timely interventions. These action plans should be included in departmental Annual Reports and Accounts each year. Departments should also evaluate their success in …
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Government Response Summary
The government disagrees with the premise that effective action is not taken, stating that departmental communication and action vary. While the Cabinet Office supports departments with tools for action plans, the government does not commit to mandating their inclusion, along with evaluations, in departmental Annual Reports and Accounts.
15
Accepted
Enhance Cabinet Office support and coordination for Civil Service People Survey responses and tracking.
Recommendation
The Cabinet Office should enhance the support it provides around future People Surveys. Its central HR team should take a more active role both in leading Civil Service wide responses as required, and in tracking organisational and departmental measures taken …
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Government Response Summary
The Cabinet Office accepts the recommendation to enhance support for future People Surveys. It will consider how to best consolidate and cascade existing resources and best practices across departments, balancing central guidance with local autonomy.
16
Accepted
Para 66
Bullying, harassment, and discrimination levels in Cabinet Office remain a significant concern.
Recommendation
Levels of bullying, harassment and discrimination at the Cabinet Office remain a point of concern. We welcome the desire expressed by senior leaders to reduce those levels and are encouraged to learn that a formal programme is in place to …
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Government Response Summary
The Cabinet Office will report to the Committee on its progress in delivering the ‘A Better Cabinet Office’ programme, including an evaluation of the Respect and Inclusion Review, with improvements in dispute management, workplace adjustments, intranet accessibility, policy navigation, and piloting an Anonymous Speak Up Portal.
17
Accepted
Require Cabinet Office to report progress and evaluate 'A Better Cabinet Office' programme.
Recommendation
The Cabinet Office should report to the Committee on its progress in delivering the ‘A Better Cabinet Office’ programme, in its response to this report. As part of that work, the Cabinet Office should include a thorough evaluation of its …
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Government Response Summary
The Cabinet Office provides an update on the 'A Better Cabinet Office' programme, detailing its structure and achievements. It also reports that the evaluation of the Respect and Inclusion Review is in progress with independent assurance, noting 45 recommendations are complete and 11 are in progress with delivery dates this financial year.
Conclusions (5)
1
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 14
When first launched, the People Survey was intended as a tool to support government departments and agencies in embedding and improving employee engagement. However, the data that have emerged from the survey have revealed themselves to be crucial to a much broader audience: to Parliamentarians, researchers and academics, and trade …
Government Response Summary
The Cabinet Office accepts the recommendation, committing to consider wider engagement of external stakeholders, include consultees in future technical guides, and implement a user engagement strategy.
3
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 19
We do not underestimate the scale of the challenge facing the Cabinet Office in translating the many demands for data voiced into a single survey questionnaire. Ultimately, no single source of data will be able to answer all the questions stakeholders have about the experiences and performance of civil servants …
Government Response Summary
The Cabinet Office accepts the recommendation to develop a broader evidence base. It has commissioned a review to utilise wider data, is developing a data dashboard for administrative data, and will consider how to include pulse surveys as a cross-government resource.
8
Conclusion
Rejected
Para 36
It is not clear to us that withholding People Survey data, so as to time its release with countless publications about Ministerial gifts, hospitality and expenses, is truly a transparent, or helpful, approach to the publication of the important data collected by the People Survey. We similarly find it difficult …
Government Response Summary
The Cabinet Office does not accept the implied recommendation to change its publication timing, despite the committee's strong criticism of current delays. It commits to reducing the timing between internal and external distribution and will explore including release dates in the Research and Statistics calendar.
10
Conclusion
Rejected
Para 45
When first established, the People Survey was envisioned as a management tool to support public bodies in gauging and promoting employee engagement. But the high-quality data it has generated - a result of excellent work by government statisticians, particularly in the early years of the survey - has proven itself …
Government Response Summary
The Cabinet Office does not accept the committee's conclusion regarding the People Survey's broader value for scrutiny, reiterating that it is primarily a management tool. It commits to publishing a commentary and reducing timing between internal and external distribution of findings.
12
Conclusion
Rejected
For over a decade, a majority of civil servants have been telling their leaders that they do not believe effective action is taken on the back of People Surveys. External users of the data share these concerns. Given that the Cabinet Office describes the People Survey as a management tool, …
Government Response Summary
The government disagrees with the overall statement that effective action is not taken from the People Survey, highlighting existing support for departments in analysing results and providing tools for action plans.