Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 13
13
Accepted
UKHSA Chair adopted an executive role due to CEO's limited experience in key functions.
Conclusion
On 1 October 2021, UKHSA had a Chief Executive and a non-executive Chair, both of whom had been appointed on 1 April 2021. UKHSA told us that the Chief Executive, despite her expertise in the science of public health, did not have experience in the other elements of running a complex organisation. The Chair of UKHSA therefore saw his role during the first 12 months as providing the Chief Executive with support in some of the functions where she had less experience, such as technology operations and procurement. This resulted in his role departing from the traditional Chair’s role of challenging and scrutinising management to taking more of an executive role.28
Government Response Summary
The government states the implicit recommendation is implemented, detailing how UKHSA established full corporate governance by September 2022, completed non-executive recruitment, and engaged GIAA for a governance review, with identified actions completed by March 2023 to ensure traditional roles and strong oversight.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
3.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 3.2 On 1 April 2021, the government announced the establishment of the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) as this country’s permanent standing capacity to prepare for, prevent and respond to threats to health. From 1 October 2021, the department and the newly formed UKHSA prioritised significant efforts on the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The operational focus in winter 2021-22 was the response to the Omicron variant and then the implementation of the Living with Covid Strategy from February 2022. 3.3 As a new organisation, the Chair and CEO of UKHSA were centred on the need for effective governance from UKHSA’s inception. Once the non-executive member recruitment which started in spring 2021 was completed in April 2022, UKHSA swiftly moved to establishing a fully functioning suite of corporate governance, including the advisory board, and holding four distinct committee meetings by September 2022. The Audit and Risk Committee appointed in April 2023 a non-executive as Chair who is a qualified accountant, with the department chairing the appointing panel and facilitating the approvals process. 3.4 The Chair and CEO engaged the Government Internal Audit Agency (GIAA) to assist in a review of the corporate governance, which was completed in May 2022. This helped identify detailed actions to improve the governance framework from the advisory board through the executive line. These were completed by March 2023, which a follow-up GIAA audit confirmed. The department contributed to GIAA’s review and met regularly with UKHSA to support progress and commissioned a GIAA review of sponsorship to better support and oversee UKHSA. UKHSA and the department continue to work closely to further strengthen governance arrangements.