Recommendation 12

The Treasury told us that it is trying to prevent poor data leading to optimism bias by improving the raw financial data that government captures. It gave the new Online System for Central Reporting and Accounting (OSCAR 2) as an example of how government is capturing new and important datasets. The Treasury described how it is working with the government functions to collect benchmarking data, which can be used to sense check information. The Treasury noted how it would like to see more improvements to benchmarking data and more analytical insight driven by the functions to help make improvements in government.29 When we asked the Treasury whether departments should start programmes if they knew the data was not good enough, it told us that departments can use predictions based on historic data, which can be refined using small test-and- learn pilots, and then scaled-up if the new data proves the initial assumptions.30