Recommendation 12

AO assessments are intended to support good decisionmaking and provide positive assurance that the four accounting officer standards have been met in line with Parliament’s expectations.34 They are a requirement for all programmes on the Government’s Major Projects Portfolio, as well as for decisions considered novel and contentious.35 The Cabinet Office told us that it found them “incredibly useful, particularly for novel, contentious and shortterm things – Covidrelated, Brexitrelated, the ports infrastructure fund, special one off projects to do with G7”. It described the AO assessment as a “fantastic guide” to “steering a route” through the complexities and uncertainties which surround some decision making. For example, when the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy was investing in British Steel.36