Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 27
27
Strong financial skills are necessary at all levels for good management of the many hundreds...
Conclusion
Strong financial skills are necessary at all levels for good management of the many hundreds of complex projects which make up the Plan. Yet, according to HM Treasury, the Department languishes in the third quartile of government departments in terms of financial capability. And the proportion of professionally trained financial staff in the Department has only increased from 41% to 43% since 2019, against a target of 60%. In July 2021 the Department had 350 vacancies in jobs in finance across the Department.58
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
5.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Autumn 2023 5.2 The department is committed to improving financial professionalism recognising that this is vital to improving financial outcomes. It takes time to train personnel and the department works with the professional bodies and academic providers to tailor programmes to individual’s needs, recognising the diverse needs of the profession. The department is committed to supporting professional development with over 500 personnel studying a professional qualification. With around 200 finance apprentices, the department is committed to providing a balance between gaining the professional qualification and relevant work experience. 5.3 The department is fully committed to the Government Finance Function (GFF) ambition of ensuring at least 60% of the finance profession are qualified and is working to be in the top quartile in both capability and broader departmental performance. The department progresses on the right trajectory achieving substantive assurance for the finance function in 2021-22 and improved positioning on In-Year forecasting performance. 5.4 The department continues to develop a range of interventions to improve workforce retention and enable effective and efficient study. These include embedding the Government Finance Function Career Framework, developing associated career and learning pathways with standardised role templates clearly articulating the level of qualification required at each level and supporting lateral moves across the Function to meet development needs. Attraction interventions will be developed as part of the employee value proposition. 5.5 The department has launched a mentoring scheme to support personal development and continues to strengthen its financial capabilities more broadly through mandatory training, key topic webinars and training to improve general business skills.