Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 19
19
The Treasury described how some of the processes used to scrutinise government plans, such as...
Conclusion
The Treasury described how some of the processes used to scrutinise government plans, such as benchmarking and ongoing project reviews, enable the Treasury and Cabinet Office to monitor the progress of efficiency programmes over time.46 The Cabinet Office told us that quarterly reviews are held between the Cabinet Office, the Treasury and departments, to hold them to account for progress on programmes, and to look at what new issues they may have encountered.47 The Cabinet Office assured us that benefits realisation will be a strong theme in the Spending Review, and that departments will need to provide clear metrics to track the benefits of their plans, rather than just focusing on expected costs.48 The Cabinet Office told us that its Evaluation Task Force, which is made up of analysts, finance and digital experts, will help assess the performance of projects and scrutinise the results.49 The Cabinet Office intends the taskforce to be able to evaluate programmes more quickly, share learnings and provide quick correction, with its findings made public.50
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
5. PAC conclusion: Departments often struggle to track benefits as closely as they track costs 5: PAC recommendation: The Cabinet Office and Treasury should work together to ensure that the new system of departmental Outcome Delivery Plans is able to track the costs and benefits of efficiency plans for government as a whole. 5.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 5.2 Beyond the regular reporting on whether efficiencies are being achieved, Outcome Delivery Plans (ODPs) also enable government to track progress in delivering real outcomes for citizens, with agreed funding. Departments have been commissioned to produce updated ODPs, covering 2022-2025. To support greater transparency for how public money is spent, departments provide a breakdown of planned spend by priority outcome or business unit through these plans. Reporting on these plans will ensure the government has an ongoing picture of departmental performance for the rest of the Parliament. This will allow Ministers and officials to identify where delivery against priority outcomes may be under pressure, as well as which programmes are not delivering expected results. 5.3 ODPs are then implemented through individual proposals which are subject to the business case process in line with the Treasury Approvals Process guidance. Major projects are entered on to the Government Major Projects Portfolio and are assured by the Infrastructure and Projects Authority. Treasury spending teams monitor departmental financial information on a monthly basis, and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury will hold departments to account on outcomes as part of routine spending discussions and through the approval of business cases. Through these processes, the government will then be able to take prompt action to improve performance and make better-evidenced decisions on future spending.