Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 13
13
Acknowledged
Cabinet Office contract with MyCSP lacked commercial levers, resulting in minimal fines
Recommendation
The Cabinet Office accepts that the contract with MyCSP has not always given it sufficient commercial levers to influence how the Scheme is being administered,27 despite having made multiple changes to the contract over its lifetime. For example, despite MyCSP’s mixed performance record, the Cabinet Office has only successfully applied two fines of total value of around £260,000 over the course of the contract, against a total contract value of around £238 million since 2016.28
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the recommendation and states it has embedded a robust contract management policy with a standardised approach for administering and managing contracts, including ensuring staff are skilled and trained, and that the Civil Service Pension Scheme must meet the requirements of the contract management policy.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
3. PAC conclusion: The Cabinet Office has not demonstrated it has sufficient capacity and capability to manage the MyCSP contract effectively and has now failed on two occasions to adequately manage the transition from one supplier to another. 3a. PAC recommendation: The Cabinet Office should set out in its Treasury Minute response: • how it intends to ensure that it has appropriate commercial capacity and contract management skills such that it can hold the administrator to account. 3.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 3.2 The Cabinet Office has embedded a robust contract management policy that provides a standardised approach for the administering and management of contracts going forward. 3.3 The Contract Management Policy applies to all Cabinet Office staff who are involved in the management of supplier contracts; It applies to all contracts and any other documents that create legally binding obligations on Cabinet Office for the procurement of goods, services and works which may include procurements which are simple in nature and low risk. Further, it applies to a contract throughout the contract lifecycle until all contractual obligations have been completed and the contract completes exit or transition. Key principles: • Assures that a standard approach to Contract Management is undertaken, including compliance with legislative and administrative arrangements. • Ensures contracts are managed in a manner that facilitates business delivery while minimising risk. • Ensures contracts are managed thereby maximising financial and operational performance. • Provides assurance that all staff are adequately skilled and trained, and understand their roles and responsibilities related to managing contracts. 3.4 The Contract Management Policy is designed with Contract Tiering and our Contract Segmentation Approach as its’ key design principle. 3.5 As a gold tier contract the Civil Service Pension Scheme must meet the requirements of the contract management policy. This includes the contract manager being qualified at expert level in contract management. 3.6 The contract also has an SRO who is responsible for ensuring commercial and contractual performance obligations are being met within the contractual requirements.