Summary
'Taking the Measure of Government Performance’ (HC 284) concludes that data systems to show taxpayers how their money is being spent is clearly focused on objectives and has shown gradual improvement.
Public Service Agreements (PSAs) were introduced in 1998 by the then Government as a means to prioritise aims using taxpayers’ money by measuring their efficiency.
The quality of data systems and of disclosures about measurement policies has risen: 58% of PSA data systems, under 2007's Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR07), were fit for purpose, up from 30% under the 2002 Spending Review.
Notes from the National Audit Office (NAO), however, show that a third of CSR07 systems needed strengthening to improve controls or transparency and 10% of systems were not fit for purpose.
Key issues in assessing data systems supporting the PSA framework include:
- Setting clear objectives which capture the outcomes that matter most to the Government.
- Distinguishing the Government’s contribution to progress from other factors which the Government did not influence.
- Providing information that highlights the cost of progress and how to improve cost-effectiveness.
- Reporting reliable, easy to interpret progress information.
Overall, PSAs became progressively more focused on key priorities, and more clearly stated, however they generally did not make clear the extent to which outcomes were the result of government activity. Also, financial information has been poorly linked with PSA indicators.
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