Background to the report

To deliver value for money over the medium- to longer-term, a government needs to turn its objectives into outcomes in a way that delivers the best value for every pound of taxpayers’ money while managing its fiscal position.

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It needs to: plan and prioritise its spending (and other activities) to address those objectives; monitor and manage both costs and value delivered; evaluate the results; adjust as necessary; and report to Parliament on how it has used taxpayers’ money. The planning and spending framework within which governments do this follows a basic cycle.

The government has limited resources and a list of areas requiring investment and improvement – it has never been more important for the government to get the most out of every pound of public money.

A sustainable approach to planning and spending is a key enabler of better public sector productivity. HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office have crucial roles, to ensure that the planning and spending framework creates the right incentives for overall value for money throughout the complex system of departments and other bodies with delegated financial accountability.

Scope of the report

We have drawn on our published work and a programme of consultation and collaboration with officials and stakeholders in the United Kingdom and overseas. Our intention is to provide useful insights as officials and ministers are making changes to the planning and spending framework, including the approach to the multi-year spending review to conclude in spring 2025. This report will also be useful to Parliamentarians and stakeholders seeking to scrutinise government spending and delivery.

We identify eight lessons the government can learn from our work and point to the associated incentives and behaviours that need addressing, if the government is to use the planning and spending framework to improve efficiency and productivity. The main part of this report examines the lessons, illustrated with examples from our published work.

This report also provides updates on developments in the planning and spending framework since we and the Committee of Public Accounts (PAC) last reported in 2018 and 2019 but it is not evaluative and does not have a value for money conclusion.

Concluding remarks

The period since we last reported on the government’s planning and spending framework has been characterised by rapid change in both the government itself and the fiscal and risk environment, and a highly short-term reactive approach.

So, although we have seen evidence of hard work in HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office to build lasting improvements into the planning and spending framework as we recommended, there has not been the cultural shift towards a focus on long-term value for money that is needed.

Changing the incentives and behaviours embedded across central government will take leadership, functional expertise and collegiate behaviour at all levels, official and political, over a whole Parliament and beyond. Parliamentary support and challenge around planning and spending is also an essential part of the necessary change.

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Publication details

Press release

View press release (27 Oct 2024)

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