Government and IT - "a recipe for rip-offs"

Government and IT -
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Public Administration Select Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 166
Release: 2011-07-28
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780215561077

Additional written evidence is available in Volume 3, available on the Committee website www.parliament.uk/pasc

Too Soon to Scrap the Census - HC 1090

Too Soon to Scrap the Census - HC 1090
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Public Administration Select Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 36
Release: 2014-04-17
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0215071670

At the start of this Parliament, the Minister for the Cabinet Office indicated the ten-yearly census should be axed and the 2011 census should be the last. But in this report the Public Administration Select Committee urges the government not to scrap the 2021 census. Good figures on the people in the country are of fundamental importance to the statistical system, policy makers and society more widely, and the ten-yearly census gives detailed information on small areas. This report follows the National Statistician's announcement in March 2014 that she recommends that Government keep the Census in 2021, but that it should be conducted largely online, and that the Government should make much greater use of the data which it already holds in order to improve the accuracy of population estimates. The Committee supports the recommendation from the National Statistician, but urges the Office for National Statistics to do much more to make the best use of the data which the Government already collects, for example through the Department for Work and Pensions, HM Revenue and Customs and the Department of Health. The Committee says that the Office for National Statistics' work on the future of the Census has, to date, been limited, and recommends that the Office for National Statistics now sets out a much more ambitious vision for the use of this data to provide rich and valuable population statistics.

Communicating statistics

Communicating statistics
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Public Administration Select Committee
Publisher: Stationery Office
Total Pages: 92
Release: 2013-05-29
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780215058706

In this report the Public Administration Select Committee recommends that departmental press officers and government statistics staff should work together much more closely to ensure that press releases give an accurate and meaningful picture of the truth behind the figures. Government statistics press releases do not always give a true and fair picture of the story behind the statistics, sometimes going too far to create a newsworthy headline. And the Committee says the ways that statistics are presented can be a challenge even for expert users. The lay user is left confused and disengaged. The Office for National Statistics website makes figures hard to find and statistics are often presented in a confusing way, for example, in formats which are not easily understandable. Other recommendations include: the UK Statistics Authority should work proactively to bring together and clearly present key statistics, from various sources, around common themes or events, such as elections and referendums, as well as broader topics such as the labour market and economic trends; the ONS website must be improved; the Statistics Authority should find more creative ways of communicating statistics, for example, through interactive guides; publication of more raw data in machine-readable format for experts who want the full results, not just the edited highlights presented in releases for a mass audience; government statisticians produce thousands of pieces of data on demand, known as 'ad hoc statistics' and these should be published proactively, rather than simply in reaction to requests.

The Economic Constitution

The Economic Constitution
Author: Tony Prosser
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 1187
Release: 2014-03-13
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0191027405

There has been little analysis of the constitutional framework for management of the UK economy, either in constitutional law or regulatory studies. This is in contrast to many other countries where the concept of an 'economic constitution' is well established, as it is in the law of the European Union. Given the extensive role of the state in attempting to resolve recent financial crises in the UK and elsewhere in Europe, it is particularly important to develop such an analysis. This book sets out different meanings of an economic constitution, and applies them to key areas of economic management, including taxation and public borrowing, the management of public spending, (including the Spending Review), monetary policy, financial services regulation, industrial policy (including state shareholdings) and government contracting. It analyses the key institutions involved such as the Treasury and the Bank of England, also including a number of less well-known bodies such as the Office for Budget Responsibility. There is also coverage of the international context in which these institutions operate especially the European Union and the World Trade Organisation. It thus provides an account of the public law applying to economic management in the UK. This book also adopts a critical approach, assessing the degree to which there is coherence in the arrangements for economic management, the degree to which economic policy-making is constrained by constitutional norms, and the degree to which economic management is subject to deliberation and accountability through Parliament, the courts and other institutions.

Special Advisors in the Thick of it

Special Advisors in the Thick of it
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Public Administration Select Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 104
Release: 2012-10-14
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780215049452

The Public Administration Select Committee says special advisers (SpAds) should be 'men and women of standing and experience' with a legitimate and valuable function to play in government, but they need better training and support to prevent future problems and misunderstandings about their role and conduct. Ministers must recognise that they have responsibility, not just accountability, for the conduct of their special advisers, and actively ensure that they are fully aware of what their advisers are doing in their name. The Committee says that it remains concerned that this responsibility has 'proved to be more theoretical than actual' and says it cannot recall any minister ever resigning over the conduct of a special adviser, despite some astonishing cases. PASC says that the special advisers' role protects the impartiality of the Civil Service, by performing tasks which it would be inappropriate for permanent, impartial officials to perform, and helping to ensure that the Government's policy objectives are delivered, but that ministers must be able to justify that the tasks they undertake are in the public interest. Despite concerns raised by PASC's predecessor Committee more than ten years ago, the training and support for new special advisers remains inadequate. The Committee makes a number of recommendations including that the PM's Adviser on Ministers' Interests should be empowered to instigate his own investigations of potential breaches of the Ministerial Code, so that the Prime Minister is not able to protect his ministers from appropriate investigation of the conduct of their advisers, and that the PM's Adviser should himself be independently appointed and subject to a pre-appointment hearing

HC 1152 - Our Work in the 2010-2015 Parliament

HC 1152 - Our Work in the 2010-2015 Parliament
Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Public Administration Select Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 37
Release: 2015
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0215085841

As one of a small number of cross-government select committees, this Committee has gained a perspective on the state of Whitehall and its agencies which is not available to departmental select committees. Throughout the past five years, the recurring theme of their findings and recommendations reflects the importance of effective leadership in creating effective organisations. It is the positive or negative attitudes and behaviour in the people and the culture of an organisation which determines success or failure. Structures, processes and systems are important too, but preoccupation with these so often becomes a distraction from the real problems, which are about why people do not share information for the common good, collaborate effectively and trust one another. PASC took control of the process of selection of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) away from the Government altogether, so that for the first time Parliament has appointed its Ombudsman. They have also held many pre-appointment hearings for the Chairs of public bodies and were the first Select Committee to refuse to accept a government nomination for the chair of a public body. The Government was forced to re-run the selection for the post of Chair of the UK Statistics Authority under a new selection panel, and to propose a different candidate. They also hold hearings on PHSO's thematic reports, to interrogate and hold to account those who must respond to its recommendations. PASC has worked together effectively as a team despite political differences and the often controversial issues tackled

More Complains Please! - HC 229

More Complains Please! - HC 229
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Public Administration Select Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 52
Release: 2014-04-14
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0215070895

How complaints are handled determines the quality of the relationship between consumers and public services. The best performing organisations welcome complaints as a way of engaging consumers. A failure to recognise the importance of complaints leads to insufficient redress for the individual, limits the impact that complaints have in improving services, and alienates the public. In some parts of public services, there are encouraging signs of increased attention to good complaints handling. However, Government as a whole cannot be said to be complying with best practice in complaints handling or adapting to the needs and expectations of today's citizen. Success depends on the right leadership. The Committee recommend that: there should be a minister for government policy on complaints handling; the primary objective of the Cabinet Office review of complaints handling in Government should be to change attitudes and behaviour in public administration at all levels in respect of complaints handling; in respect of complaints from MPs handled by ministers, replies must be accurate, clear and helpful and with no sharing of confidential information or delegation of responsibility for responding; the Government should create a single point of contact for citizens to make complaints about government departments and agencies; and the Government should provide leadership to those responsible for various parts of administrative justice, to ensure that there is a clear and consistent approach to sharing, learning and best practice.

HC 111 - Lessons For Civil Service Impartiality From The Scottish Independence Referendum

HC 111 - Lessons For Civil Service Impartiality From The Scottish Independence Referendum
Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Public Administration Select Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 45
Release: 2015
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 021508456X

This Report has been compiled so that lessons may be drawn for future referendums. On 18 September 2014, the Scottish public voted for Scotland to remain part of the United Kingdom. The roles played by civil servants in both Scotland and London in the Scottish referendum last summer were subject to criticism and controversy. The referendum campaign exposed two major issues: first, the question of how a unified Civil Service can serve both HM Government and the Scottish Government; and second, the challenges to Civil Service impartiality generated by the Scottish independence referendum. Particular concerns were raised about the Scottish Government's White Paper, Scotland's Future, which included a description of the SNP's proposed programme for government that was contingent upon their winning the 2016 Scottish Parliament elections. This did not uphold the factual standards expected of a UK Government White Paper and raised questions about the use of public money for partisan purposes. There was also concern that the publication of normally confidential advice by the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury called into question the impartiality of the Civil Service. The Committee concludes that parts of the White Paper should not have been included in a government publication. Civil servants should not be required to carry out ministers' wishes, if they are being asked to use public funds to promote the agenda of a political party, as was evident in this case.

Caught Red Handed: Why We can't Count on Police Recorded Crime Statistics - HC 760

Caught Red Handed: Why We can't Count on Police Recorded Crime Statistics - HC 760
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: International Development Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 64
Release: 2014-02-13
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0215068084

Over the next ten years, development aid in the form of grants should be replaced for lower middle income countries. DFID should continue to channel some of its finance through multilaterals, making greater use of their specialist skills and expertise rather than replicating these within its own bilateral programmes. DFID should also establish a financial instrument team, prepare a development finance strategy and publish a Development Finance White Paper during 2014. This strategy should include consideration of whether to establish a UK development bank. The overwhelming drive in UK aid should continue to focus on lifting people out of poverty and meeting post-2015 development objectives. The UK should continue to fund the development and delivery of key services to the very poorest people in low income countries through a system of grants. We should also continue to channel 0.7 % of GNI into development cooperation. But, to support structural transformation in lower middle income countries a significant proportion of future UK development finance should also be delivered via a system of concessional loans and other financial instruments

Sessional Returns

Sessional Returns
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 442
Release: 2012-09-14
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780215048387

On cover and title page: House, committees of the whole House, general committees and select committees