Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 11
11
When this Committee last reported in 2016 it noted that the quality of oversight by...
Conclusion
When this Committee last reported in 2016 it noted that the quality of oversight by departments was inconsistent.20 There remains a lack of consistency in how ALBs work with departments and how they are held to account. In order to try and bring greater uniformity to how departments and ALBs work together, the Cabinet Office introduced its Code of Good Practice in 2017. However, the Cabinet Office does not monitor whether departments follow this code in practice and told the NAO that its current approach is not to monitor and understand how departments are overseeing their ALBs.21 In 2016, this Committee also noted that more benchmarking of ALB performance would improve efficiency by highlighting where there is scope for improvement.22 The Cabinet Office told us that although it publishes data on public bodies annually this does not include performance data. It admitted it had not done enough to provide good-quality benchmarking data since we last reported and acknowledged that this data would help drive stronger performance.23
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
3: PAC conclusion: Departments do not receive enough support from Cabinet Office in certain aspects of arm’s-length bodies management. 3: PAC recommendation: The Cabinet Office should write to us by January 2022, setting out how it will use its new strategy to: • assure itself that the guidance it sets is being followed and that assurance and framework documents are regularly updated; • support departments and ALBs so that they can better benchmark their performance; and • improve sponsorship skills across government and how it will measure the success of this. 3.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: January 2022 3.2 The government committed to a new programme of reviews and enhancing sponsorship through Action 24 in the Declaration on Government Reform. The Cabinet Office will write to the Committee with an update on the progress of the Public Bodies Reform Programme and its next steps in January 2022. As confirmed in Alex Chisholm’s written evidence to the Committee, the Programme includes workstreams on governance, data and sponsorship. 13