10
Limited practical guidance and systematic support exist for identifying departmental service costs.
Conclusion
We found that there is limited practical guidance and systematic support for people in departments who own the services and are responsible for identifying their costs.20 Forums such as the Finance Foundations Group aim to share best practice.21 While we heard a good description of the theory of sharing best practice, we were less convinced that the arrangements as described to us have led to tangible improvements, raising concerns that these forums may be little more than “talking shops” and not as effective as they ought to be.22
Government Response
A response document is linked to this report, dated 1 April 2026. Response attribution to this conclusion has not been verified. Read the response document.
Source
Committee
Public Accounts Committee
Report
58th Report - Government services: Identifying costs
12 Dec 2025
HC 1421
Addressee Bodies
HM Treasury
Timeline
Recommendation age
0.8 yr
Report published
12 Dec 2025