Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 7
7
Not Addressed
High-quality evaluation essential for robust evidence, transparency, and delivering project value.
Conclusion
High quality evaluation is an important means of providing evidence about what works and transparency about what value a project has produced. In our May 2022 report on government’s use of evaluation and modelling, we stated: “Without the right incentives, improvements to oversight and culture, and addressing challenges such as sharing data, decisions will continue to be made without being informed by a robust evidence base. This can put value for money unnecessarily at risk.”7 5 Qq 4, 25, 29, 65; C&AG’s Report, para 27 and Figure 2 and 4, pages 18–19 and 22–23 6 Qq 4, 31, 64; C&AG’s Report, para 2 7 Committee of Public Accounts, Use of evaluation and financial modelling in Government, Fourth Report of Session 2022–23, HC 254, 27 May 2022 10 Delivering value from government investment in major projects The C&AG’s 2024 report provides examples of the importance of evaluation to enable government departments to understand how they can deliver better value from their major projects. The Diamond Light Source’s 2021 study into the scientific, technological, societal and economic benefits of the facility contributed to the evidence base and input to future funding requests. An evaluation of the London 2012 Olympics, meanwhile, demonstrated how it had been able to implement sustainable procurement on the programme.8
Government Response Summary
Despite stating agreement, the government's response details its efforts to encourage international collaboration on antimicrobial products and antibiotic innovation, including commissioning an evaluability assessment from July 2025 to early 2026. This does not address the committee's conclusion on the importance of high-quality evaluation for major government projects.
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation government continues to encourage other countries to pilot and implement pull incentives for antimicrobial products, including via the G7 and G20, to achieve the desired impact on global R&D antibiotic innovation. The government is fostering technical exchange with like-minded countries and sharing UK learnings. This includes participation of workshops and international working groups, such as those hosted by the Global AMR R&D Hub - advocating for partnership working between industry and public sector. Working with independent researchers at the NIHR Policy Innovation and Evaluation Research Unit, DHSC has commissioned an evaluability assessment which will take place from July 2025 to early 2026 to assess the quality of data that is available and inform a future evaluation. A future evaluation would investigate the impact of the model on key aspects of antibiotic innovation and distribution, including the pipeline for new antibiotics and the supply chain of antibiotics. In the interim, the government is committed to publishing as much material in the public domain about the UK subscription model as possible. This includes the assessment scores for each product that receives a contract, from Spring 2026, to facilitate the evaluation of the overall scheme.