Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 8
8
Accepted
UKSV struggled with fluctuating demand and significant increases for security clearances.
Conclusion
UKSV relies on customer demand forecasts in October ahead of each financial year, to enable it to plan for the resources it will need. For 2020–21, customers over-forecast how many clearances they were likely to need, unaware of the coming COVID-19 pandemic, which caused a drop in demand for clearances. Conversely, during 2021–22 customers under-forecast their demand in 11 out of 12 months as the employment market changed as COVID-19 restrictions eased. Overall, in 2021–22, demand for DV clearances increased by 57% and demand for CTC/SC clearances increased by 60%.17 UKSV struggled to cope with this increased demand, in much the same way that it did when there was an increase in demand after the Brexit referendum which required increased resources to plan the UK’s exit from the EU.18
Government Response Summary
UKSV is undertaking a full review of forecasting and demand planning processes in collaboration with customers for 2024/25, planning engagement with other government departments for best practice, and implementing agreements with customers for demand handling, alongside improved management information.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: September 2023 2.2 UKSV has faced significant challenges in helping customers accurately forecast and regulate demand levels over the last three years. While some of the factors behind the changes in demand, such as the changing security context and the COVID pandemic, have been sudden and unpredictable, the Cabinet Office recognises there is more that can be done to make UKSV more resilient to these changes. 2.3 To deliver improvements for the next financial year (2024/25), UKSV is undertaking a full review of current forecasting and demand planning processes, in collaboration with their customers, to identify areas where the process can be streamlined and simplified to help customers forecast better. UKSV is planning engagement exercises with other government departments and organisations whose business is dependent on similar kinds of forecasting and planning, in order to better understand what works and aim to align with HM Government/industry best practice. UKSV will also undertake more proactive engagement with the customers who generate the most vetting demand, so they can assist them more closely throughout the planning process. 2.4 In addition, UKSV has implemented a series of agreements with customers that set out the expectations for how UKSV handles changes in demand, as well as proposing that vetting governance mechanisms in place, which customers are part of, are empowered to make decisions and agreements on where UKSV’s resources should be focussed. This builds on the progress made in recent improvements to management information (MI) that UKSV now produces, including access to customer MI which will help with customer forecasting.