Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 22
22
Accepted
The Department explained to us that the reduction in volumes meant providers had prepared for...
Conclusion
The Department explained to us that the reduction in volumes meant providers had prepared for a “different scale of service”, and had committed to costs such as staff and building leases that reflected the scale of the programme they had originally been asked to deliver, but now did not need.43 This, coupled with a desire to maintain an uninterrupted service and a lack of flexibility in the contracts to manage such a low volume scenario, meant that the Department had little leverage in the contract renegotiations.44 In the end, 35 C&AG’s Report, para 3.2 36 Q 1 37 C&AG’s Report, para 3.4 38 Q 43 39 Qq 1–3, C&AG’s Report, para 2.8 40 Q 10; C&AG’s Report, para 13, 22 41 Q 51 42 Q 9 43 Q 61 44 Qq 55–56; C&AG’s Report, para 3.20 The Restart Scheme for long-term unemployed people 15 the Department could make only limited savings beyond those already achieved through the reduced number of ‘job outcome’ fees it would have to pay to providers, arising from the lower volumes.45
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the recommendation and will collate robust Management Information (MI) to assess how providers are performing at Contract Package Area (CPA) level, to increase transparency and competition and share best practice.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
5. PAC conclusion: The Department does not understand how well each of the individual 77 providers are delivering Restart compared to their peers. 5. PAC recommendation: While Restart is running, the Department should do more to collate and assess how individual providers are performing to increase transparency and competition between providers, and to identify pockets of best practice that might otherwise be lost when performance is compiled into a package area level. The Department should then seek to use this information as part of its evaluation. 5.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Autumn 2024 5.2 The department does collate robust Management Information (MI) to assess how providers are performing at Contract Package Area (CPA) level, noting that the department’s commercial model holds prime providers accountable for their own supply chains. The department’s commitment to continuous improvement, sharing best practice and building on its current processes will be enhanced by the following actions: • Prime providers will report on a simple return, the subcontractor each participant is assigned to. • The department will produce the relevant MI centrally, ensuring the methodology is aligned with their current suite of CPA MI. • Metrics will be: Starts on scheme, First Earnings and Job Outcomes. • The subcontractor MI for each CPA will be circulated to all prime providers monthly for complete transparency, and to facilitate the sharing of best practice. • Subcontractor MI will be shared with the evaluation team to be used as part of their process. 5.3 The department’s evaluation team already capture qualitative data on prime providers and subcontractors as part of their geographical case studies and use MI to select sites to ensure coverage across urban, rural and coastal areas. Standardising data collection at sub- CPA level will allow more precise focus where trends suggest further exploration is needed to understand delivery issues or good practice. This will be included in the department’s evaluation of Restart.