Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 3
3
Acknowledged
Share Shared Outcomes Fund lessons and produce guidance for departments on cross-government working.
Conclusion
Effective cross-government working is fundamental to delivering government’s priorities but there is a lot of work to do to make it more than just a ‘nice to have’. Efforts have been made to incentivise cross-government working through reward and recognition but HM Treasury acknowledges there is a lot of work still to do. In 2019, the Shared Outcomes Fund was set up to fund pilot projects that test innovative ways of working across the public sector, with an emphasis on thorough plans for evaluation and whether these small-scale projects can be scaled-up. More recently, HM Treasury has developed guidance to encourage joint-bids at spending rounds. But HM Treasury concedes that it is disappointing there were only 28 joint bids at the last Spending Review. It recognises that it is going to have to do more in the next Spending Review to encourage joint bids from departments and to make more top-down requests for joint bids. 6 Cross-government working Recommendation 3: HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office should: • share lessons learned from the Shared Outcomes Fund; • produce guidance for Departments setting expectations on cross- government working ahead of the next Spending Review.
Government Response Summary
The government states it will determine its approach to supporting cross-departmental working at the next Spending Review, informed by lessons learned from previous SRs and the Shared Outcomes Fund, and is committed to providing guidance to remove barriers to collaboration.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The government agrees with this recommendation. produce guidance setting expectations that departments should work together at the Spending Review on cross-cutting areas. At Spending Review 2021, the government improved the process for joint bid applications, making it more accessible for departments engaging in joint working to bid for funding. At the launch of SR21, the then Chief Secretary to the Treasury (CST) wrote to Secretaries of State in other government departments to make clear that HM Treasury expected departments to work together at the Spending Review on cross-cutting policy areas. In two key cross-cutting areas, the Criminal Justice System and the Integrated Review, the then Director General of Public Spending wrote to departments involved to ask them to work together to align and prioritise their bids. For other key cross-cutting areas, there were established cross-government processes in place, covering areas such as Levelling Up and Net Zero. These processes ensured that departments worked together on SR bids. HM Treasury also provided training and guidance to finance and policy teams across Whitehall to support joint bids. HM Treasury will determine in detail its approach to supporting cross-departmental working at the next SR. The approach will be informed by lessons learned from the previous SR and the Shared Outcomes fund, as well as feedback on the joint bid process from departments. HM Treasury is committed to further removing the barriers to cross- departmental collaboration and increasing the number and standard of cross-cutting business cases through providing guidance to teams and support to priority areas.