Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 17
17
In any government programme, departments should aim to work collaboratively across government and to involve...
Conclusion
In any government programme, departments should aim to work collaboratively across government and to involve people with the right skills from the outset. Yet this is not something we always see in the programmes we report on.28 In this case, we heard how the departments’ efforts to involve government departments that were best placed to carry out specific functions contributed to the programmes’ success.29 22 Letter from Second Permanent Secretary, Department of Health and Social Care, to PAC Chair, dated 9 November 2020 23 Q84; C&AG’s Report, Figures 3 & 10 24 Ventilator Challenge UK consortium (SOV0002) 25 Qq 57, 126 26 Q85, C&AG’s Report, para 16 27 Q85, C&AG’s Report, paras 25, 4.20 28 See for example, Committee of Public Accounts, Seventy-Eighth Report of Session 2017–19, Improving government planning and spending, HC 1596; paras 13–15 29 Q 77 14 Covid-19: Supply of ventilators
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
5.1 The government agrees with this recommendation. Target implementation date: March 2023 5.2 The Government Commercial Function and associated central employment model of the Government Commercial Organisation enables the Cabinet Office to continue to optimise the skill development and deployment of staff with these skills accordingly. Further activity is underway to ensure that assessment and associated capability building in the commercial space continues in both government departments and across the wider public sector, with a target date of March 2023 to have achieved scale. This will ensure that in the event of future crises more commercially trained /assessed and accredited staff will be available for deployment.