Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 2
2
Accepted
The Cabinet Office is unable to deliver on its strategic objective to reduce consultancy spend...
Recommendation
The Cabinet Office is unable to deliver on its strategic objective to reduce consultancy spend because departments are not complying with its definitions and directives. The Chief Commercial Officer stated that some departments are not following Government Commercial Function guidance or the good practice set out in the Consultancy Playbook when defining consultancy requirements, going to market, or contracting. Cabinet Office stated that it has often reiterated guidance for departments but does not monitor compliance. This is further complicated by the fact departments do not routinely monitor compliance by their arm’s-length bodies (ALBs). Cabinet Office is currently consulting with the Government Internal Audit Agency (GIAA) about what government can do to improve assurance over data, consistency controls and oversight of ALBs. 3 recommendation Alongside its Treasury Minute, the Cabinet Office should set out which departments are not complying with its requests on consultancy procurement and what it intends to do to address non-compliance.
Government response summary AI-generated
The Cabinet Office has commissioned the Government Internal Audit Agency (GIAA) to carry out a review of 15 organisations with significant consultancy spending and will write to the Committee with GIAA’s findings and the steps the Cabinet Office will take as a result.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government · verbatim extract
Accepted
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. obligations. There is some anecdotal evidence of issues rather than systemic non-compliance. The Cabinet Office has commissioned the Government Internal Audit Agency (GIAA) to carry out a review of 15 organisations with significant consultancy spending. The review will look at whether organisations are adhering to definitions of consultancy spending as set out by the Cabinet Office and whether they have appropriately implemented controls that the Cabinet Office has asked them to. The department will write to the Committee with GIAA’s findings and the steps the Cabinet Office will take as a result.
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