Recommendations & Conclusions
16 items
2
Recommendation
Twenty-Eighth Report - Improving the Ac…
Accepted
The quality of published AO assessments varies, with some providing insufficient information to understand a programme’s purpose or how it has been assessed. AOs are responsible for assessing all spending against the four standards set by HM Treasury. However, not all published summaries provide the lay reader with insights into …
Government response. HM Treasury has already shared good practices with departments, including requiring sign-off by a senior member of the Finance Function, engaging with departments on specific projects, delivering training through the Government Finance Academy, and engaging with Finance Directors via the …
HM Treasury
3
Recommendation
Twenty-Eighth Report - Improving the Ac…
Accepted
While accounting officers recognise the value of AO assessments, they are not being used consistently across government. AO assessments can help accounting officers in several ways – they support decision making about whether a project or programme should go ahead, or whether a ministerial direction is required before doing so. …
Government response. The government agrees with the recommendation and will work with the Leadership College for Government to develop more in-depth training regarding the use of AO assessments and Managing Public Money, in addition to existing training and forums.
HM Treasury
4
Recommendation
Twenty-Eighth Report - Improving the Ac…
Accepted
HM Treasury and the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) do not always use AO assessments to build their understanding of programmes and systemic issues across government. AO assessments show an accounting officer’s consideration of the risks major spending decisions pose to Managing Public Money and how these risks are managed. …
Government response. AO assessments are used to support decision making at Major Projects Review Group (MPRG) and Treasury Approval Panels (TAP), and since January 2021, updated AO assessments have been requested by the MPRG panel for a number of projects. From 2023, …
HM Treasury
5
Recommendation
Twenty-Eighth Report - Improving the Ac…
Accepted
Government major programmes are experiencing significant challenges, such as skills gaps and inflation, which will impact on their feasibility and value for money. HM Treasury is clear that a new AO assessment should be completed where changing circumstances have led to a departure from the original plan. All our witnesses …
Government response. The government agrees with the recommendation and states that AOs must consider the challenges posed by high inflation, materials shortages, labour market disruption, and high interest rates in light of their ongoing duties to consider feasibility and value for money. …
HM Treasury
1
Conclusion
Twenty-Eighth Report - Improving the Ac…
Accepted
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from HM Treasury, the Cabinet Office and the Infrastructure and Projects Authority.1
Government response. The government agrees with the committee's recommendation to streamline the notification process of AO assessments by including a new annex in the next edition of Managing Public Money, and will share a draft with the Committee and the National Audit …
HM Treasury
6
Recommendation
Twenty-Eighth Report - Improving the Ac…
Accepted
We asked what was being done to encourage the greater use of AO assessments given they have proven themselves valuable for decision making.12 HM Treasury told us it was working in five areas to bring about improvement – such as providing effective support and changing culture.13 But HM Treasury also …
Government response. The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation and will embed AO assessments into training for senior civil servants and set up specific forums for AOs to share how they use AO assessments to draw judgements against each of the four …
HM Treasury
9
Recommendation
Twenty-Eighth Report - Improving the Ac…
Accepted
HM Treasury guidance states that for GMPP programmes the accounting officer should publish a summary of the key points in each AO assessment unless there are overriding sensitivities, such as commercial considerations, that outweigh the merits of making the assessment publicly available.25 HM Treasury requires accounting officers to publish a …
Government response. The government agrees to inform the Committee if all accounting officers met the October deadline and whether there will be a central list on GOV.UK. The next edition of Managing Public Money will include a new annex to consolidate Parliamentary …
HM Treasury
10
Conclusion
Twenty-Eighth Report - Improving the Ac…
Accepted
The previous Committee raised concerns about the lack of transparency because some assessments were not being published.27 A lot of summary AO assessments are still not published.28 The National Audit Office reviewed 73 published summary assessment to see how soon they had been published after they had been signed. Only …
Government response. HM Treasury states that accounting officer assessment guidance published in December 2021 required all draft assessments to be signed off by a senior member of the Finance Function, and Treasury spending teams continue to engage with departments to provide support …
HM Treasury
12
Conclusion
Twenty-Eighth Report - Improving the Ac…
Accepted
AO assessments are intended to support good decisionmaking and provide positive assurance that the four accounting officer standards have been met in line with Parliament’s expectations.34 They are a requirement for all programmes on the Government’s Major Projects Portfolio, as well as for decisions considered novel and contentious.35 The Cabinet …
Government response. The government agrees to embed AO assessments into training for senior civil servants and set up forums for AOs to share how they use AO assessments, with a target implementation date of July 2023. This will include more in-depth training …
HM Treasury
13
Conclusion
Twenty-Eighth Report - Improving the Ac…
Accepted
AO assessments can also help an accounting officer consider the political context alongside practical implementation issues to show that they have done what we would describe as “a thorough job regarding taxpayer’s money”.37 HM Treasury also see AO assessments as acting as a “corporate memory” and “audit trail” for why …
Government response. The government agrees to embed AO assessments into training for senior civil servants and set up forums for AOs to share how they use AO assessments, with a target implementation date of July 2023. This will include more in-depth training …
HM Treasury
14
Recommendation
Twenty-Eighth Report - Improving the Ac…
Accepted
HM Treasury recognised that there were “black and white points” where it was very clear that an AO assessment would be expected, whereas more judgement could be needed in other situations.39 Given this and the “big gaps” between the AO assessments it would expect to have seen completed and those …
Government response. The government agrees to embed AO assessments into training for senior civil servants and set up specific forums for AOs to share how they use AO assessments, with a target implementation date of July 2023. HM Treasury will be working …
HM Treasury
15
Recommendation
Twenty-Eighth Report - Improving the Ac…
Accepted
One way HM Treasury scrutinises programmes ahead of funding and budgetary decisions is through the Major Projects Review Group (MPRG).42 The MPRG—which advises HM Treasury ministers on whether the highest profile and most complex government programmes should proceed—is attended by the relevant accounting officer.43 The Cabinet Office told us that …
Government response. The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation and states that AO assessments are used to support decision making at Major Projects Review Group (MPRG) and Treasury Approval Panels (TAP). Updated AO assessments have been requested by the MPRG panel for …
HM Treasury
16
Recommendation
Twenty-Eighth Report - Improving the Ac…
Accepted
The Cabinet Office told us that because AO assessments focus on individual programmes they do not describe systemic risks, although particular themes may replicate themselves across individual programmes. While HM Treasury said that AO assessments were not the way to see common themes and risks faced by programmes, lessons could …
Government response. The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation and states that AO assessments are used to support decision making at Major Projects Review Group (MPRG) and Treasury Approval Panels (TAP). Updated AO assessments have been requested by the MPRG panel for …
HM Treasury
17
Recommendation
Twenty-Eighth Report - Improving the Ac…
Accepted
HM Treasury’s guidance states that an AO assessment should be produced for a programme or project if, after its initial approval, it ‘departs from the four standards [for accounting officers] or the agreed plan […] in terms of costs, benefits, timescales, or level of risk, which informed the accounting officer’s …
Government response. The government considers that the AO assessment process is owned by the AO and the departments, and that challenges posed by high inflation, materials shortages, labour market disruption, high interest rates, and skills gaps, are important considerations that AOs must …
HM Treasury
18
Conclusion
Twenty-Eighth Report - Improving the Ac…
Accepted
Looking to the future, departments face several challenges which may lead to significant changes to their programmes.54 We have seen estimates of a reduction in the size of the civil service of between 5% and 25%.55 The IPA told us that it estimates a skills gap on programmes of around …
Government response. The government agrees that challenges may significantly change major programmes, requiring AO assessments to understand the impact. It considers defined thresholds, such as investment committee advice or IPA assurance ratings, sensible as triggers to update AOAs, with updated assessments provided …
HM Treasury
19
Recommendation
Twenty-Eighth Report - Improving the Ac…
Accepted
IPA also characterised inflationary pressures as a “very real issue” which was “beyond a risk: it was a reality”. For example, it quoted inflation at 23% over the last six months on materials. IPA concluded that programmes will need to be more productive to help offset inflationary pressures.57 HM Treasury …
Government response. The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation and states that it considers that challenges posed by high inflation, materials shortages, labour market disruption, and high interest rates must be considered by AOs in light of their ongoing duties to consider …
HM Treasury