Use of evaluation and financial modelling in Government

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 12 Jan 2022 Closed: 2 Sep 2022 Parliament page
Government relies on hundreds – possibly thousands – of models for a huge variety of critical activities, from forecasting spending plans to guiding operational decision making, and increasingly relies on these models as more data is available and there is an increased emphasis on evidence-driven decision-making. When it comes to … Read more
7 Recommendations
12 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
1 Event
Activity timeline 4 events
2 Sep
2022
Report published
27 May
2022
Report published
9 Mar
2022
Oral evidence
9 Mar
2022
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Wilson Room, Portcullis House
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
9 Mar 2022
View on parliament.uk
Use of evaluation in Government/Financial Modelling
Catherine Hutchinson · HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office Cat Little · Cabinet Office Professor Sir Ian Diamond · UK Statistics Authority Sir Tom Scholar · HM Treasury
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Fourth Report - Use of evaluation and modelling in government HC 254 27 May 2022 19 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
3 results
Clear
2 Recommendation Not Addressed
Fourth Report - Use of evaluation …
HM Treasury is not making full use of the spending levers it has at its...
HM Treasury is not making full use of the spending levers it has at its disposal to deliver a step change in the use of evaluation across government. We welcome the creation of the Evaluation Task Force and the increased … Read more
Government Response
The response does not address the recommendation of setting up a formal process for tracking spending review settlement conditions relating to evaluation, and instead discusses internal performance measures and consultations with the sector.
HM Treasury
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9 Conclusion Not Addressed
Fourth Report - Use of evaluation …
Within departments, ultimate responsibility for upholding standards and securing improvements lies with that department’s accounting...
Within departments, ultimate responsibility for upholding standards and securing improvements lies with that department’s accounting officer.24 Managing Public Money states that financial modelling and evaluation are an important part of the accounting officer’s role, and that they should comply with … Read more
Government Response
The response restates the conclusion.
HM Treasury
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16 Recommendation Not Addressed
Fourth Report - Use of evaluation …
Transparency of the models that departments use is poor: only 9 out of 17 departments...
Transparency of the models that departments use is poor: only 9 out of 17 departments have published their list of business-critical models since 2013, and only four of those have updated this since 2017.54 HM Treasury has not published its … Read more
Government Response
The response discusses publishing an evaluation registry and reviewing quality assurance procedures, which doesn't directly address the need to publish lists of business-critical models or improve guidance on model transparency.
HM Treasury
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Government Response AI assessment · 19 of 7 classified
Accepted 12
Acknowledged 4
Not Addressed 3
Total 7 recs + 12 conclusions