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The Cabinet Office recognises that other challenges government faces, such as the response to Covid-19,...
Conclusion
The Cabinet Office recognises that other challenges government faces, such as the response to Covid-19, will also require cross-government working, working at pace, or working in new ways.18 The Cabinet Office feels that it has learnt a lot from EU Exit and put it into a practice via a process of continuous improvement, which has allowed it to apply lessons “every week and every month”.19 The Cabinet Office gave examples of how this was working operationally, such as in getting businesses to apply for Economic Operators Registration and Identification (EORI) numbers, and when considering how to redistribute the responsibilities of the Department for Exiting the EU.20 The Cabinet Office confirmed that it has no plans to conduct a formal review of the preparations to set out what it can learn for the future.21 Instead, it is relying on the National Audit Office’s 8 Q 19; C&AG’s Report, para 19 9 Qq 19, 57–58; C&AG’s Report, para 25 10 Q 20 11 Qq 19–20; C&AG’s Report, para 23 12 Qq 80–81; C&AG’s Report, para 28 13 Q 19 14 Q 4; C&AG’s Report, para 21 15 Qq 4, 20, 44, 6 16 Q 45 17 Q 19, 110 18 Q 48 19 Qq 36, 38 20 Q 39 21 Q 37 Whitehall preparations for EU Exit 11 work to identify lessons. The Cabinet Office described a process of comparing the National Audit Office’s recommendations to current practice in the key areas of decision-making, innovation, information-sharing and considerable possible future scenarios. The Cabinet Office highlighted some specific actions which had been taken as a result, including expedited processes in the Treasury which have been used to provide additional funding for the border, sharing assumptions for the reasonable worst-case scenario for disruption at the short Channel crossings, and developing plans for the structures and resource flows needed to cope with the combination of EU Exit, Covid-19 and other external factors.22 We recognise the value of taking action quickly via continuous improvement activity and are pleased that the Cabine
Government Response
Not Addressed
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
2.3 The UK Transition PIC draws on recommendations from a comprehensive internal evaluation and summary report produced in January 2020 on the ‘Get Ready for Brexit’ (GRFB) campaign, and the NAO report. For example: ● Recommendation 1: Internal lessons learned showed communication activity should prioritise those audiences where a lack of action will lead to the greatest disruption, and where action can be taken on a ‘no regrets’ basis (it will be required regardless of the outcome of negotiations). Action: The Transition Communication Centre in the Cabinet Office built on and applied the successful prioritisation criteria for GRFB. This has been implemented throughout the PIC; in Phase 3, ‘no regrets’ actions for borders and business audiences, particularly SMEs, were broadcast through peer-to-peer messaging which showed other like-for-like businesses getting ready. ● Recommendation 2: NAO recommendations included developing a consistent way of measuring impact during the initial period of the campaign, in order to track value delivered throughout. Action: The Cabinet Office developed and collated a full range of measures to gauge third-party awareness and preparedness for the end of Transition, and consequently campaign impact, at the launch of the PIC. This includes intention to act and actions taken by audiences. Data has been continuously sourced from the Devolved Administrations, GOV.UK traffic, call centre incoming call volumes and qualitative engagement insights. It is then collated and tracked by the Transition Communication Centre on a weekly basis and is used to review and inform decisions on campaign activity and spend.
Source
Committee
Public Accounts Committee
Report
Twenty-Ninth Report - Whitehall preparations for EU Exit
02 Dec 2020
HC 682
Addressee Bodies
HM Treasury
Timeline
Recommendation age
5.5 yrs
Report published
02 Dec 2020