Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 32
32
Accepted
Transparency and definitive fraud estimates in Whole of Government Accounts reporting remain inadequate
Conclusion
We have previously expressed concern about the level of transparency in WGA reporting.56 The ICAEW suggested that it would have been helpful to have a more definitive estimate of fraud and waste incurred during 2020–21 financial year. The ICAEW would also have liked to see a corresponding summary of the estimates of COVID-19 fraud and waste from across government to present an overall picture of the potential exposure to fraud and waste in 2020/21 before and after recovery actions.57 As part of our inquiry into the 2019–20 WGA, we raised concerned about the design and testing of OSCAR II, the Treasury’s system for collating and consolidating data into the WGA. This was expected to bring significant benefits, including improved data quality and analysis, and advancements in the quality of the informaiton in the WGA.58 We therefore asked the Treasury about the capabilities of OSCAR II and how it was being used. The Treasury told us that that the system was fully live, with WGA, forecasting and estimates teams working with data from across Whitehall. We noted that the Government Accountability Office in the USA had produced interactive fund tracking mapping produced by the Government Accountability Office., The Treasury told us that it was working with the Department for Levelling-Up, Housing and Communities on a project that showed spending by region, which had been enabled by OSCAR II. It also said that “there is a lot more we can do on that” and that its next stage would be to think about what else it could enhance or make better use of, particularly around data quality.59 55 Q 16; WGA0002 Written evidence from ICAEW: The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, 10 November 2023 56 Committee of Public Accounts, Whole of Government Accounts 2019–20, Twentieth Report of Session 2022–23, HC 31, 14 December 2022. Para 19–22 57 WGA0002 Written evidence from ICAEW: The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, 10 November 2023 58 Committee o
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee's implicit recommendation for greater transparency regarding fraud and waste. It commits to compiling a compendium of COVID scheme evaluations and providing a list of relevant evaluations in July 2024, as well as an update on distilling lessons from business support by April.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
4.4 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Autumn 2024 4.5 HM Treasury sees the value in evaluating the success of COVID schemes in achieving policy aims and remains committed to learning and sharing lessons from the response to the pandemic. 4.6 The government has written to the Committee regularly over the last four years explaining where improvements to processes can and have been made. For example, the government's response to recommendation 1 of the Committee's Forty-Sixth Report of Session 2021-22 provided an update on the steps taken to bolster the department’s approach to risk management, including the creation of a Risk Management Strategy and Delivery Plan. 4.7 The then Chief Secretary also wrote to the Treasury Select Committee on 1 April 2021, copied to the Chair of the PAC, explaining the lessons learned by the department, on how responding to the pandemic required the department to administer the spending control framework more flexibly than during ‘normal’ times. HM Treasury continues to refine the spending framework annually to ensure it remains fit for purpose. 4.8 HM Treasury sees the value in bringing together evaluations of COVID schemes, including completed and in-flight evaluations, into a single compendium. HMT is content to provide a list of relevant evaluations in July 2024. 4.9 Separately, HM Treasury has committed to carry out an exercise to distil lessons from the experience of supporting businesses through the pandemic, drawing on existing evaluations and reports, and where relevant including cross-cutting lessons to learn. HM Treasury will provide the Committee with an update on its progress in April.