Recommendations & Conclusions
10 items
10
Conclusion
57th Report - Government services: Gene…
Acknowledged
Over the five-year period from 2019-20 to 2023-24, none of the seven government services reviewed consistently met their cost-recovery targets. Poor cost-recovery persisting over time results in a build-up of surplus and deficits in some services. Both passports and family court fees have repeatedly missed their cost-recovery targets by more …
Government response. The Treasury acknowledged the challenge of potential inequities for users when government bodies under or overcharge for services and hopes to address this through stronger incentives for departments to encourage lower costs through efficiencies.
HM Treasury
11
Conclusion
57th Report - Government services: Gene…
Acknowledged
Significant imbalances between fees and costs pose risks to the financial resilience of public services and create unfairness for the public. The NAO reported that the passport service has been underrecovering since 2017-18 without explicit approval from Home Office Ministers or HM Treasury. This has led to a deficit of …
Government response. The Treasury acknowledged the challenge of potential inequities for users when government bodies under or overcharge for services and hopes to address this through stronger incentives for departments to encourage lower costs through efficiencies.
HM Treasury
12
Conclusion
57th Report - Government services: Gene…
Acknowledged
The NAO report highlighted that persistent imbalances can also create potential inequities for users. When government bodies undercharge for services, cumulative losses are often recouped through higher fees for future users. Conversely, when services over-recover, current users end up overpaying.22 We were interested to hear how the Treasury make sure …
Government response. The Treasury acknowledged the challenge of potential inequities for users when government bodies under or overcharge for services and hopes to address this through stronger incentives for departments to encourage lower costs through efficiencies.
HM Treasury
20
Conclusion
57th Report - Government services: Gene…
Acknowledged
The NAO reported the charged services it examined did not fully fulfil their disclosure requirements on areas such as unit costs, the cost-recovery targets, objectives, the extent and explanation for over or under-recovery.39 The lack of transparency affects public confidence and understanding of what they are paying for. The Treasury …
Government response. The Treasury will update the Financial Reporting Manual (FReM) to align to 6.11 of Managing Public Money (MPM) by Spring 2026 to include clearer reporting guidance for fee-charging public bodies to ensure more effective Parliamentary scrutiny and will continue to …
HM Treasury
21
Conclusion
57th Report - Government services: Gene…
Acknowledged
The NAO report highlighted the importance of proportionate financial reporting requirements, particularly for smaller bodies.43 We asked how the Treasury will make sure its disclosure requirements are proportionate. The Treasury told us that it is mindful of the administrative burden, and it intends to do more to help departments improve …
Government response. The Treasury will update the Financial Reporting Manual (FReM) to align to 6.11 of Managing Public Money (MPM) by Spring 2026 to include clearer reporting guidance for fee-charging public bodies to ensure more effective Parliamentary scrutiny and will continue to …
HM Treasury
1
Conclusion
58th Report - Government services: Iden…
Acknowledged
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Cabinet Office, HM Treasury and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on improving government’s productivity through better information on the costs of services.1
Government response. The government acknowledges the committee's work and outlines plans to enhance government productivity by setting expectations for Accounting Officers to improve service-level cost information, issuing new guidance, monitoring compliance via finance assessments, and fostering best practices through cross-government forums.
HM Treasury
10
Conclusion
58th Report - Government services: Iden…
Acknowledged
We found that there is limited practical guidance and systematic support for people in departments who own the services and are responsible for identifying their costs.20 Forums such as the Finance Foundations Group aim to share best practice.21 While we heard a good description of the theory of sharing best …
Government response. Treasury will use cross‑government forums (including the Finance Foundations Group) to share best practice, address barriers, and support departments to embed cost ownership in service governance, aligned to the Government Finance Function Strategy.
HM Treasury
11
Conclusion
58th Report - Government services: Iden…
Acknowledged
We were pleased to hear that the Government Finance Function (GFF) recognises the need for a significant shift.23 It told us that it has conducted an internal skills assessment and will recruit additional experts to help 13 Qq 147, 148 14 Qq 123, 146 15 Q 140 16 Q 85 …
Government response. Capability will be strengthened through the Government Finance Academy and peer support via the Finance Foundations Group, with departments piloting the standard and sharing lessons learned.
HM Treasury
14
Conclusion
58th Report - Government services: Iden…
Acknowledged
“Quick wins” can be valuable. However, we are concerned that they often mask deeper and more persistent issues like poor data quality and entrenched cultural barriers. As the Cabinet Office has itself identified, these will need ongoing tenacity and effort if substantial progress is to be made in addressing them.34 …
Government response. The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. They will implement practical costing guidance by July 2026, which will sit alongside Managing Public Money and Value for Money.
HM Treasury
15
Conclusion
58th Report - Government services: Iden…
Acknowledged
The lack of common data standards across government further complicates benchmarking and granular cost analysis because it makes data more difficult to analyse and interpret.35 GFF told us that the introduction of new Enterprise Resource Planning systems and new data standards for back-office processes such as finance and human resources …
Government response. The government states that consistency will be supported by the NOVA reference model, rollout of common ERP solutions, and a common chart of accounts.
HM Treasury