Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 10
10
Acknowledged
Limited practical guidance and systematic support exist for identifying departmental service costs.
Conclusion
We found that there is limited practical guidance and systematic support for people in departments who own the services and are responsible for identifying their costs.20 Forums such as the Finance Foundations Group aim to share best practice.21 While we heard a good description of the theory of sharing best practice, we were less convinced that the arrangements as described to us have led to tangible improvements, raising concerns that these forums may be little more than “talking shops” and not as effective as they ought to be.22
Government Response Summary
Treasury will use cross‑government forums (including the Finance Foundations Group) to share best practice, address barriers, and support departments to embed cost ownership in service governance, aligned to the Government Finance Function Strategy.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
1.5 Treasury will use cross‑government forums (including the Finance Foundations Group) to share best practice, address barriers, and support departments to embed cost ownership in service governance, aligned to the Government Finance Function Strategy.