Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 15
15
Delays in getting new challenges approved have had a knock-on effect on UKRI’s ability to...
Conclusion
Delays in getting new challenges approved have had a knock-on effect on UKRI’s ability to start spending. For example, in 2019–20, UKRI had underspent by £86 million, equivalent to 14% of its budget for the Fund the year. During 2020–21 UKRI agreed to re-profile £165 million from the current budget into future years for 20 challenges, mainly due to the impact of COVID-19. We asked UKRI about the extent to which any delays in distributing funding to projects will affect its ability to spend the Fund in its final years. UKRI said that the need to reprofile spending into future years created financial pressure in the later years of the programme. The NAO found that reprofiling funding could have an impact on planned activity, which in turn might impact on the amount of co-investment generated by partner organisations. It similarly found that additional pressure on future budgets could also come from the impact of COVID-19 on the level of activity undertaken on funded projects. UKRI told us that it would be easier to manage the risks from reprofiling budgets if it had a multi-year settlement. However, in the Spending Review 2020, the Fund was part of a one-year settlement.43
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
6.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: October 2021 6.2 The government recognises the impact that an elongated approvals process can have on the participants to Challenges. A key consideration in the design of the delivery model for future challenges will be to consider a more streamlined approach to selecting and approving Challenges, with a simpler governance structure, while still conforming to Green Book requirements. 6.3 There are established improvement programmes already underway within UKRI to improve business operations and customer experience. These include initiatives seeking to improve the project application and approval processes as well as enhancing the experience of businesses who bid for and receive funding. The department will write to the Committee by October 2021 to set out the plans to improve the speed of future challenge funding approvals and update the Committee on progress in relation to project approval improvements.