UK Inquiry Tracker

Specialist skills in the civil service

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry

Opened: 16 Sep 2020 Closed: 25 Mar 2021 Parliament page

In the midst of a series of major challenges to Government in developing responses to Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic and the UK’s 2050 net-zero carbon target, the Committee is launching an inquiry on progress in developing specialist skills across the civil service. Civil service skills and capabilities were thrown into … Read more In the midst of a series of major challenges to Government in developing responses to Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic and the UK’s 2050 net-zero carbon target, the Committee is launching an inquiry on progress in developing specialist skills across the civil service. Civil service skills and capabilities were thrown into focus in recent years as the UK built towards its departure from the European Union - a focus greatly sharpened as we adapt to a global pandemic emergency. The Committee continues to scrutinise aspects of the Government’s response to Covid-19 and the civil service’s capacity and capability to respond to a range of challenges. Government supports the development of specialist skills through cross-government functions, which develop and deliver expertise to government departments. This inquiry will focus on the NAO’s report on the Cabinet Office’s progress across four of those functions in particular: Commercial, Digital, Finance and Project Delivery, including the Cabinet Office’s oversight of the functions; progress in developing specialist skills within the functions; and areas where the functions need to develop further. The NAO finds that the Cabinet Office now sets clear expectations for the performance of functions and requires regular reporting on their costs and benefits. Functions have also become more established as the means for advancing specialist skills and expertise across government. However, the functional model to fully succeed, departments need to consistently embed that functional expertise in their business planning, and Government could exploit functions more effectively to support cross‑government working. In addition, to support recruitment and retention HM Treasury now allows functions and departments to exercise some pay flexibility – but this can lead to workforce management issues. In mid-October we will question senior Cabinet Office and Treasury officials on the latest picture on specialist skills and capabilities in the civil service. If you have evidence on the issues raised in this inquiry please submit them here by Thursday 8 October. Show less

6 Recommendations

14 Conclusions

1 Report

1 Oral session

1 Event

Activity timeline 3 events

24 Mar
2021

Report published

Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Thirty second report from Session 2019-21

11 Dec
2020

Report published

Thirty-second Report - Specialist Skills in the civil service

2 Nov
2020

Oral evidence

Specialist skills in the Civil Service

Oral evidence sessions 1 session

2 Nov 2020

View on parliament.uk

Specialist skills in the Civil Service

Alex Chisholm · Cabinet Office Cat Little · Cabinet Office Rupert McNeil · Cabinet Office

Reports 1 report · click to expand

Title	HC No.	Published	Items	Response
Thirty-second Report - Specialist Skills in the civil service	HC 686	11 Dec 2020	20	Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

3 results

8 Conclusion Acknowledged

Thirty-second Report - Specialist …

Some functions, such as the Commercial function, have introduced pay flexibility in order to try...

Some functions, such as the Commercial function, have introduced pay flexibility in order to try and increase recruitment of specialists. The Cabinet Office told us that the use of flexibilities in the Government Commercial Organisation had been an effective way … Read more

Government Response

The government agrees with the committee's observation that pay flexibility can be effective, outlining existing mechanisms such as departmental pay delegation, pay exception processes, SCS pay reviews via the SSRB, and the use of Pivotal Role Allowances for specialists.

HM Treasury

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15 Conclusion Acknowledged

Thirty-second Report - Specialist …

Developing detailed plans for each function—also known as ‘capability blueprints’— is fundamental to the effective...

Developing detailed plans for each function—also known as ‘capability blueprints’— is fundamental to the effective operation of the functional model in government. The National Audit Office report found that without capability and capacity plans in place it is difficult for … Read more

Government Response

The government acknowledges the importance of capability blueprints for functions and confirms commitment to their formulation and publication, explaining that additional time beyond April 2021 is needed due to contextual pressures and data availability, while detailing progress for Commercial, Finance, and HR functions.

HM Treasury

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19 Conclusion Acknowledged

Thirty-second Report - Specialist …

The Cabinet Office explained that the Digital function has made progress identifying the cost savings...

The Cabinet Office explained that the Digital function has made progress identifying the cost savings of moving to permanent staff from contract labour and, as part of this, the function has recognised the indirect cost benefit of retaining skills within … Read more

Government Response

The government agrees with the committee's observation, outlining existing frameworks like the "measuring the impact of government functions" project and the Green Book methodology which assess and guide efficiency and impact across government functions.

HM Treasury

View details

Government Response AI assessment · 20 of 6 classified

Accepted 12

Acknowledged 3

Not Addressed 2

Rejected 3

Total 6 recs + 14 conclusions