Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 22
22
Accepted
Programme should exemplify transparency by regularly reporting progress and welcoming scrutiny.
Conclusion
In our 2021 report drawing together lessons from numerous programmes we specifically highlighted the importance of Parliament’s own restoration and renewal programme being an exemplar of an open and transparent programme which welcomes scrutiny.50 The Delivery Authority Chief Executive commented that “Transparency in reporting is a very powerful and important tool. Many people in projects and programmes find it difficult, but I think it is actually helpful and beneficial to have visibility and scrutiny.”51 Following our June 2022 report the Clerks, former Sponsor Body and Delivery Authority Chief Executive accepted our recommendation to report regularly to Parliament on progress, describing how they would continue to publish quarterly progress reports and engage regularly to share information.52
Government Response Summary
The Clerks and Client Team agree with the committee's observation on transparency and confirm that commitments for regular reporting are being fulfilled, including annual and quarterly progress reports, published meeting minutes, and Independent Advice and Assurance Panel reports.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The Clerk of the House, Clerk of the Parliaments, and Client Team agree with the Committee’s recommendations. First bullet – annual performance report Previous commitments made to the Committee are already being fulfilled and, specifically, the first R&R annual progress report from the House Administrations is due to be published before summer recess 2023. In addition to the annual progress report, the Programme publishes quarterly reports providing updates on the Programme and setting out progress against key milestones. The latest quarterly report was published on the R&R Programme Board’s website in June. The R&R Client and Programme Boards also publish meeting agendas, and the Formal Minutes for each meeting, on their respective websites, for transparency purposes. The Clerk of the House and the Clerk of the Parliaments have previously committed to publishing the outcomes of any future work by the Independent Advice and Assurance Panel (IAAP) which they commission, subject to the agreement of the Commissions acting as the Client Board. The first IAAP report was published in June 2022 as an appendix to the Joint Commissions’ Report Restoration and Renewal of the Palace of Westminster – a new mandate. The latest IAAP report, undertaken in February, was published on the Programme Board’s website in June 2023.