Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 14
14
The Accounting Officer for the Ministry of Justice explained her responsibilities for the risk and...
Conclusion
The Accounting Officer for the Ministry of Justice explained her responsibilities for the risk and performance of the ALBs within the Ministry of Justice departmental group boundary. As part of this, the Ministry of Justice requests performance, financial and risk data from its ALBs on a regular basis.29 However, the Cabinet Office does not require departments to provide it with information on the risks in their ALBs, and standardised data on the risks across ALBs still does not exist. HM Treasury told us to manage risks it is important to work closely with Departments and Principal Accounting Officers. This is particularly the case in new organisations that are spending a lot of money, and it highlighted the work it has done with Test and Trace and the NHS. It said it was more difficult to assess risks in smaller bodies, as spend is not the only arbiter of risk.30
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
4: PAC conclusion: The Cabinet Office and HM Treasury do not have a common view of risks across arm’s-length bodies. 4: PAC recommendation: In its Treasury Minute response the Cabinet Office should set out how: • it will gain assurance that departments have developed a consolidated view of the risks presented by their ALBs; and • it will use departmental assessments of ALB risks to inform discussions on cross-cutting risk with the Government Finance Function. 4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Summer 2022 4.2 The Cabinet Office will work with the Government Finance Function to: • promoting good practice and effective relationships and transparency between departments and their ALBs to support a mutual understanding of risk with proportionate monitoring and aligned reporting; • creating common frameworks that allow assessment of organisational risk management maturity, to be published Summer 2022; • using departments’ assessment of risks and their management across their ALBs to inform the public bodies programme of focussed and coordinated reviews to examine the effectiveness of the management of areas of significant risk; and • enhancing capabilities and drive professionalism to build risk management awareness and knowledge across leaders at all levels of government organisations.