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Last updated: 28 November 2008
Public Service Agreement set out each government department's aim, objectives and key outcome-based targets. They form an integral part of departments' spending plans set out in Spending Reviews, which are the means by which government makes decisions about the allocation of public funds over a three year period.
The outcome of the 2004 Spending Review (SR 2004) was announced in July 2004. SR 2004 established the funding available to the Cabinet Office for the period 2005-06 to 2007-08 and set the targets to be achieved. The Cabinet Office were responsible for delivery of three targets, which would drive progress towards achieving key goals in the areas of public service delivery, Civil Service capacity (incorporating leadership, skills and diversity) and the third sector. HM Treasury is jointly responsible for delivery of the first target.
The last assessment of performance against the four SR 2004 targets was made in the Cabinet Office Autumn Performance Report 2007 (Cm 7254), published in December 2007, and can be found at: Cabinet Office Autumn Performance Report 2007 (Cm 7254).
During the SR 2004 period, the Cabinet Office aimed to make government work better by concentrating on three core functions:
Target 1: Improve public services by working with departments to help them meet their PSA targets, consistently with the fiscal rules. This is a joint target with HM Treasury.
Target 2: By April 2008, work with departments to build the capacity of the Civil Service to deliver the Government's priorities, by improving leadership, skills and diversity.
On diversity meeting the specific targets of:
in the longer term, work to ensure that the Civil Service at all levels reflects the diversity of the population.
Target 4: Increase voluntary and community engagement.
Element 1: Increase voluntary and community engagement, especially amongst those at risk of social exclusion.
Element 2: Increase the capacity and contribution of the voluntary and community sector to deliver more public services.
Note: PSA Target 3 “By April 2008 ensure departments deliver better regulation and tackle unnecessary bureaucracy, in both public and private sectors.” With the establishment of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and the transfer of the Better Regulation Executive (BRE) to BERR in June 2007, PSA Target 3 transferred to that department from the Cabinet Office. BERR are now responsible for reporting progress against this target.
| Target 1 | Improve public services by working with departments to help them meet their PSA targets, consistently within the fiscal rules. This is a joint target with HM Treasury. |
|---|---|
| Progress | Slippage (SR 2002 & SR 2004 targets) |
| Commentary | The Cabinet Office and the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit (PMDU) continue to assess progress and support the delivery of all departments' PSA targets, though responsibility for delivering the targets rests with the relevant departmental Secretaries of State, as set out in the “Who's responsible” section of each PSA. SR2004 target Approximately 80 per cent of SR2004 targets were given overall summary assessments on progress by departments in their 2007 Autumn Performance Reports (APRs). Of those approximately 60 per cent were reported as being met, ahead or on course. Slippage was reported for approximately 40 per cent of targets. While very good progress has been made working with departments in helping them achieve their targets, in order for the Cabinet Office to meet its PSA target, a full 100 per cent of SR2004 PSA targets need to be met or partly met. It is an exceptionally ambitious target, so it is not surprising that there is some slippage in meeting it. Although the SR2004 period ended in March 2008, data for monitoring this target was taken from departments' 2007 APRs. Progress can vary up to the point that a final assessment for all targets is made. A final assessment for this target will be provided once ninety per cent of all SR2004 PSA targets have been finally assessed. SR2002 target Approximately 90 per cent of SR2002 targets were given overall summary assessments on progress by departments in their 2007 APRs. Of those, over three quarters were reported as being met, on course or partly met. Although the SR2002 period ended in March 2006, data for the full period are not yet available as some targets have a longer horizon than the SR2002 period. A final assessment for this target will be provided once ninety per cent of all SR2002 PSA targets have been finally assessed. Quality of Data Systems The data systems underpinning PSA targets are validated by the National Audit Office (NAO). A report on the data systems for 2005-08 PSA targets for six departments was published by the NAO in December 2006. The report concluded that nearly three quarters of the data systems developed by these departments provided a broadly appropriate basis for measuring progress against their PSA targets. The Cabinet Office remains committed to ensuring that the data used in monitoring and reporting on PSA targets are relevant and reliable. The Cabinet Office is considering how the issues raised in the report can be taken forward in the context of the new performance management framework announced in the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review. |
| Target 2 | By April 2008, work with departments to build the capacity of the Civil Service to deliver the Government's priorities, by improving leadership, skills and diversity. On diversity meeting the specific targets of:
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| Progress | Significant progress has been made on leadership and skills. Whilst there has been a lot of progress towards meeting diversity targets, at present these have only been partially met. As a result, overall, PSA Target 2 is assessed as partly met. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Commentary | Leadership Capability The first round of Capability Reviews of all central government departments was completed in December 2007. The reviews use a common framework to assess top management team capabilities. They are managed by the Civil Service Capability Group (CSCG, formerly the Corporate Development Group and the Capability Review Team). CSCG works with departments to help provide targeted support to make improvements required. The Cabinet Secretary chairs six monthly stocktakes that hold departments to account for taking effective action that is improving their capability to deliver. Independent assurance of departments' progress is carried out to inform those stocktakes. An independent evaluation of the programme and the early impact was carried out by the Sunningdale Institute and published in the Autumn 1. They found “the programme has given departments a jolt and forced the issue of improvement up the agenda… the reviews are also starting to impact on a number of substantive issues within departments”. A survey of senior civil servants 2 carried out as part of the evaluation found there was considerable impact on leadership capability, internal strategy, and external engagement:
Specific achievements this year include:
Skills The Capability Review programme has also underlined the importance of skills more generally. Work in this area is being led by Government Skills, the Sector Skills Council (SSC) for Central Government. The Prime Minister announced that it Government Skills would transfer to the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills from April 2008. This has put it in a better position to drive forward the Skills Strategy for Government by creating a strong alignment with the Ministerial and official team charged with skills policy across all sectors in England. It will also continue to work closely with the Devolved Administrations. In 2007, the Government announced its plan for implementing Lord Leitch's recommendations on skills. Government Skills' work supports this agenda: – In April 2007 main departments 3 signed the Skills Pledge. This is a commitment to support employees by offering time-off and training to gain a first qualification at NVQ Level 2 (5 GCSEs at A*-C or equivalent). – In 2007 Government Skills completed surveys of employers, employees and training providers. Drawing on the results of these surveys, individual departments' skills strategies and the results of Capability Reviews, it developed a new overarching Skills Strategy for Government. This was endorsed by Permanent Secretaries in January and charts a course for common action to address priority skills needs over the next three years. The Skills Strategy builds on and extends the successful Professional Skills for Government programme (PSG) which has been the main vehicle during the SR2004 period for delivering improvements in skills. (More information about the programme, including the skills themselves, is at: http://psg.civilservice.gov.uk/ [External website]). It sets out a number of specific actions including expanding the number of apprenticeships; strengthening the role of professions in setting professional, transferable skills standards (linked to relevant qualifications where appropriate); encouraging joint commissioning of learning and development provision, improving quality and reducing skills gaps, as well as saving money; and ensuring we work more effectively with the Higher and Further Education sectors, giving Government's potential future workforce a headstart in the skills its business needs. Diversity The diversity targets were set at a challenging level to accelerate progress towards a more visible and diverse Senior Civil Service. There is a varied picture of achievement across departments and further progress is needed to fully achieve the targets. Over the past year there have been slight increases in representation of both black and minority ethnic and disabled staff in the SCS, although no further increase in female representation (Annex 3). All targets and statistics for the SR 2004 targets use figures from the SCS database to ensure consistency of measurement across the four targets. Ethnicity and disability percentages are based on those senior civil servants whose ethnicity/disability is known. The proportion of staff at SCS level who have declared their ethnicity at October 2007 is up to 87.7%, from 83.4% in October 2003. The proportion of staff who have declared their disability status at October 2007 is up to 88.3%, from 70.7% in October 2004. There has been continued monitoring of the 10-point plan on delivering a diverse Civil Service, launched in November 2005. The plan introduced strengthened targeted action and accountability in departments for delivering improved diversity, with a particular focus on the SCS, although some actions have taken place in support of all Civil Service levels. Action under the plan has included:
Annexes Annex 1 Over the course of the CSR04 period a number of workforce methods for measuring improvements in leadership have been used. The current figures are:
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1 Take-off or Tail-off? An evaluation of the Capability Reviews programme. Sunningdale Institute November 2007.
2 Source: Opinion Leader Research, Report to the Cabinet Office on Capability Reviews: Research with Senior Civil Servants 2007.
3 Not including the Devolved Administrations and the Northern Ireland Office
The table below shows progress of the Cabinet Office against the diversity targets
| Minister/Official | Percentage as at 31/3/08 | PSA Targets (1/4/08) |
|---|---|---|
| Women in SCS | 38.9% | 37.0% |
| Black and minority ethnic staff in SCS | 4.9% | 4.0% |
| Women in top management posts | 30.8% | 30.0% |
| Disabled staff in SCS | 3.1% | 3.2% |
| Target 4 | Increase Voluntary and Community Engagement Element 1: Increase voluntary and community engagement, especially amongst those at risk of social exclusion. |
|---|---|
| Progress | Not met. |
| Commentary | This target specifically covers people at risk of social exclusion which are defined as those belonging to Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) groups, people with no qualifications, and people with a disability or limiting long-term illness. It includes both formal volunteering (giving unpaid help to groups, clubs or organisations) and informal volunteering (giving unpaid help to an individual who is not a member of the family). Data from the 2007 Citizenship Survey shows that the proportion of those at risk of social exclusion volunteering at least once a month is 41%. This proportion is the same as in 2001 which means the target has not been met. However, volunteering levels overall remain high with 73% of all adults having volunteered in the last twelve months and 48% having volunteered at least once a month. The proportion of people formally volunteering has risen from 39% in 2001 to 43% in 2007. Four programmes contribute to the delivery of this PSA target:
Looking forward to the next CSR period the Government is investing more than ever before in volunteering, with £137m committed to volunteering programmes. As part of this the Government is committed to creating a new generation of volunteers, investing more than £117m over the next three years in youth volunteering, through the national youth volunteering charity v. The Government is seeking to open up opportunities to volunteer within the public sector. A cross Government group has been created to promote volunteering for and by civil servants and the Cabinet Office is tendering for a partner organisation to take forward a staff volunteering strategy. In addition, Baroness Neuberger, the Government Champion for Volunteering, has recently conducted a review of volunteering in health and social care. This was published in March and sets out how Government could increase opportunities to volunteer in this sector. In response to the final report of the Independent Commission on the Future of Volunteering, the Government will invest £4m in developing new programmes to train volunteers and volunteer managers, and a further £2m to create a new access to volunteering fund for disabled people. The Government is also taking action to reduce the barriers to volunteering by removing unnecessary and disproportionate obstacles. In June 2008 we published guidance on Criminal Record checks to help organisations know when and when not to carry out checks and we will be publishing guidance to reduce barriers to people on benefits volunteering. In addition to these programmes, regular volunteering is one of only 198 indicators in the new Local Government Performance Framework, on which all top-tier local authorities will be assessed. Forty three local areas have chosen this indicator as part of their Local Area Agreement. |
| Target 4 | Element 2: Increase the capacity and contribution of the voluntary and community sector to deliver more public services. |
| Progress | Too early to tell (see revised technical note) |
| Commentary | This element is currently measured by an index combining the number of employees, the number of volunteers and the amount of statutory funding the sector receives, using data from the State of the Sector Panel survey. The baseline is 2002/03 when the index was set at 100. The most recent data for 2005/ 06 shows that this index is now at 105. However, there have been concerns over the quality of the data from the State of the Sector Panel survey, which has meant that reporting progress to date has been difficult. As a result, with support from Treasury and the National Audit Office, we will be implementing a new measurement mechanism that encapsulates all of the same elements as the existing method, but which gives us greater confidence that what we are measuring is accurate. Work on this is ongoing and further details are contained in the Technical Note. The Office of the Third Sector is continuing to invest in Futurebuilders and has recently successfully re-tendered the management of the £215m programme. The programme provides grants and loans to develop the capacity of third sector organisations who want to get involved in delivering public services. A key change for the recently re-tendered stage is that now third sector organisations working in any service area are eligible to apply for finance, which will significantly increase the reach of the programme in supporting third sector organisations to deliver public services. In addition, the Government is continuing to drive forward actions to deliver Partnership in Public Services: an action plan for third sector involvement. Key achievements are:
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| Revised Technical Note for PSA 4 Element 2 | In their validation exercise of PSA measurement mechanisms, the National Audit Office raised questions over the State of the Sector Panel survey, which is used to capture progress on this for element. In their view the data system ‘needs strengthening’. In addition, the quality of the data from the survey has been adversely affected by the continuing attrition of original panel members, and would not be able to deliver the minimum number needed for robust reporting for the end of the PSA period. This fatally undermines the suitability of the Panel to measure progress across the time period as a whole. We will no longer be using the State of the Sector Panel as the basis of our assessment of progress on this element – the last year of the survey was for the financial year 2005/6. Instead we are moving to new data systems. We will continue to measure all three components of the index – the number of employees, the number of volunteers and the amount of statutory funding the sector receives – but using alternative, existing data sets for each of the components of the index, all of which will have greater robustness than the State of the Sector Panel, and all of which are methodologically consistent throughout the PSA period. There are a number of technical issues arising from the use of multiple datasets when creating an index, which we are working to address, and it is too early to say whether the new mechanisms will replicate the progress towards the target reflected in the old State of the Sector data. |
The Spending Review 2004, incorporating the outcomes of the Gershon and Lyons reviews resulted in the following targets for Cabinet Office:
Following various Machinery of Government (MoG) changes since 2004; revised Cabinet Office Gershon and Lyons targets were as follows:
The table below sets out the level of efficiency gains that the Cabinet Office anticipated securing from each area by March 2008. The planned gains from work streams were not targets in themselves, but would contribute to the overall target. Cabinet Office reported that it had achieved its efficiency savings target of £22.5 million at 31 March 2008. The status of the savings are final and are all cashable. Contributing to these efficiency savings were higher than expected procurement and headcount efficiency savings, estate rationalisation; improved management and control of consultancy expenditure and a number of centrally identified pressures which did not materialise before the end of the financial year.
| Area | Anticipated £m | Actual £m March 2008 |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate Services | 4.3 | 5.5 |
| Improved Procurement | 14.5 | 16.2 |
| Building a leaner and more efficient Centre of Government | 3.1 | 7.6 |
| Estate Consolidation | 0.6 | 3.5 |
| Total | 22.5 | 32.8 |
Relocation. To date, 41 posts had been relocated. Following the transfer of the Better Regulation Executive (BRE) to BERR, our target for relocations has been reduced by 25 and that for BERR increased by 25.
A recent joint review with Office of Government Commerce (OGC) of our ability to meet our relocation target concluded that, due to changes in structure and function of Cabinet Office since the Lyons Report was published in 2004, opportunities for further sensible relocations were limited. The review recognised Cabinet Office had made serious efforts to achieve its target, but that changing circumstances meant that Cabinet Office, in its current configuration, would be unable to meet the target. Rather than change the target it was agreed that the target would remain and that Cabinet Office would investigate the relocation opportunities for any units created within the department or transferred in from elsewhere.
Reduction of Civil Service posts. Between 2004 and 2008 Cabinet Office reduced posts through a number of projects, particularly building a leaner and more efficient centre of government. This work was part of the Cabinet Secretary's aim to make the Cabinet Office more strategic and better focused on its core objectives. Cabinet Office achieved an overall headcount reduction of 140 at the end of the Gershon reporting period. This was 40 more than the revised target of 100.
Although the Public Administration Select Committee (PASC) is not a departmental Committee, it does scrutinise the work of the Cabinet Office, as the government department with particular responsibility for Civil Service issues.
During the last 12 months, ministers and officials from the department have appeared before PASC on a number of occasions to provide evidence on inquiries undertaken by the Committee:
| Minister/Official | Date | Subject/Inquiry |
|---|---|---|
| Pat McFadden and Ian Watmore | 10 May 2007 | Public Services: Putting People First? |
| Sir Gus O'Donnell | 15 November 2007 | The work of the Cabinet Office |
| Ed Miliband and Phil Hope | 20 November 2007 | Third SectorCommissioning |
| Ed Miliband and Sir Gus O'Donnell | 29 April 2008 | Draft Constitutional Renewal Bill |
In addition to these hearings, PASC also undertakes extensive scrutiny of Cabinet Office accounts, expenditure and performance in relation to its targets, through correspondence.
The Propriety and Ethics team in the Cabinet Office acts as the liaison point, and coordinates with others in the department, on work involving the Committee.
The main work of the Public Accounts Committee is the examination of the Reports made by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) on his value for money (VFM) studies of the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which Government Departments and other bodies have used their resources to further their objectives.
During the last 12 months, officials from the department have appeared before PAC on a number of occasions to provide evidence on inquiries undertaken by the Committee:
| Official | Date | Subject/Inquiry |
|---|---|---|
| Alexis Cleveland (CO), John Suffolk (CO) and Alan Bishop (COI) | 28 November 2007 | Government on the Internet: Progress in delivering information and services online |
| Alexis Cleveland | 12 December 2007 | Improving corporate using shared services |
The Cabinet Office has one core aim: ‘Making government work better’ which is currently supported by the four objectives outlined below (SR 2004 period). Each group within the Department contributes to one or more of these objectives. The table sets out, by group, the number of staff working towards each of the Department's objectives.
The numbers below represent the proportion of each group's work on the objectives described in full-time equivalent (FTE) members of staff. The numbers do not necessarily represent in every case individual members of staff.
| Number | Description | Total FTE Staff |
|---|---|---|
| Objective 1 | Supporting the Prime Minister – to define and deliver the Government's objectives | 317 |
| Objective 2 | Supporting the Cabinet – to drive the coherence, quality and delivery of policy and operations across departments | 567 |
| Objective 3 | Strengthening the Civil Service – to ensure that the Civil Service is organised effectively and has the capability in terms of skills, values and leadership to deliver the Government's objectives | 285 |
| Objective 4 | Support Cabinet Office business | 153 |
| Total | 1322 |
| Group | Objective | Total FTE Staff |
|---|---|---|
| Business Support Group | Supporting the Prime Minister | 0 |
| Supporting the Cabinet | 105 | |
| Strengthening the Civil Service | 22 | |
| Support Cabinet Office business | 111 | |
| Civil Service Capability Group | Supporting the Prime Minister | 0 |
| Supporting the Cabinet | 0 | |
| Strengthening the Civil Service | 175 | |
| Support Cabinet Office business | 36 | |
| Communications and Information Group | Supporting the Prime Minister | 27 |
| Supporting the Cabinet | 12 | |
| Strengthening the Civil Service | 30 | |
| Support Cabinet Office business | 0 | |
| Domestic Policy & Strategy Group | Supporting the Prime Minister | 20 |
| Supporting the Cabinet | 144 | |
| Strengthening the Civil Service | 16 | |
| Support Cabinet Office business | 0 | |
| European Secretariat | Supporting the Prime Minister | 16 |
| Supporting the Cabinet | 13 | |
| Strengthening the Civil Service | 3 | |
| Support Cabinet Office business | 0 | |
| Intelligence, Security & Resillience Group | Supporting the Prime Minister | 35 |
| Supporting the Cabinet | 190 | |
| Strengthening the Civil Service | 7 | |
| Support Cabinet Office business | 0 | |
| Overseas & Defence Secretariat | Supporting the Prime Minister | 24 |
| Supporting the Cabinet | 24 | |
| Strengthening the Civil Service | 0 | |
| Support Cabinet Office business | 0 | |
| Parliamentary Counsel Office | Supporting the Prime Minister | 0 |
| Supporting the Cabinet | 73 | |
| Strengthening the Civil Service | 0 | |
| Support Cabinet Office business | 0 | |
| Prime Minister's Office | Supporting the Prime Minister | 169 |
| Supporting the Cabinet | 0 | |
| Strengthening the Civil Service | 0 | |
| Support Cabinet Office business | 0 | |
| Transformational Government | Supporting the Prime Minister | 26 |
| Supporting the Cabinet | 6 | |
| Strengthening the Civil Service | 32 | |
| Support Cabinet Office business | 6 | |
| Total | 1322 |
1 Data used in this table is based on the average of quarterly data throughout the financial year. Note 9 to the Accounts shows additional headcount information.
Cabinet Office does not legislate in high volumes and as such produces very little regulation of its own. Key functions of the Cabinet Office are to co-ordinate and promote good policy-making across government.
Since the publication of last year's Cabinet Office Departmental Report, the Better Regulation Executive (BRE), which leads better regulation work across government, has moved from the Cabinet Office to the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR). Details of the BRE's leadership role in the drive for better regulation during 2007/ 08 can be found in that department's annual report.
Cabinet Office is not a significant regulator itself but does have units and agencies which contribute to regulation. As with all government departments, the Cabinet published its second simplification plan in December 2007 which will continue to be reviewed and updated every year.
The administrative burden imposed by all departments was measured in a systemic exercise. The total administrative burden imposed by the Cabinet Office was measured at £15.4 million from two main areas, the Third Sector and Security, Intelligence and Resilience. It includes all those administrative burdens which are attributable to Cabinet Office legislation, less ‘business as usual’ costs.
All departments have individual targets for reducing their administrative burden by May 2010 (five years after the baseline for the measurement exercise). The Cabinet Office has accepted a target of 35 per cent. Measures identified amount to £5 million of savings which will benefit business, frontline public services and the Third Sector. This is a reduction of 32 per cent. We aim to identify additional savings in plans during 2008.
The most significant administrative burden reduction measures are:
For further information on Cabinet Office administrative burden reduction and simplification plans, please see Cabinet Office Simplification Plan which was published in December 2007.
The Cabinet Office has conducted eight formal public consultations since January 2007:
All consultations lasted at least 12 weeks.
The Cabinet Office European Secretariat works with the Better Regulation Executive in BERR and across Whitehall to ensure that departments are aware of the European Commission's work streams and better regulation priorities. The Cabinet Office and BERR have successfully influenced the European Commission's approach to administrative burden reduction and simplification, as well as the European Council which in March 2007 agreed a target to reduce administrative burdens at EU level and Member State level by 25%; to be achieved by 2012.
The Office of the Third Sector works closely with the Better Regulation Executive and across Government to tackle regulation that has a disproportionate effect on third sector organisations.
The Cabinet Office has not implemented any European legislation in the period covered by this report and there are no forthcoming Cabinet Office regulations that impact on business. Therefore no Common Commencement Date Statement was made.