Presentation by Simon Madden and Johannes Wolff, United Kingdom, at the 11th annual meeting of the OECD Senior Budget Officials Performance and Results network, Paris, 26-27 November 2015.

1. Measuring performance:
UK experience
26th November 2015

2. We are creating a suite of tools to improve performance and
deliver high-quality services, within SR envelope
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Financial Management
• Financial Management
Reform programme improving
the capability and operating
model of the finance function
• Value maps being developed to
visualise and interrogate spend
• Costing projects ongoing to
analyse spend in cross-
cutting areas
• Management Information
being standardised
Spending Review: Core budget allocation; conducted every 3-4 years; incorporates detailed cost analysis,
evaluation and consultation with departments and other experts
Financial Management Reform
programme improving financial
management across government
to deliver savings
Single Departmental
Plans
Single roadmap,
bringing together a
departmental narrative
on performance and
spend – including
efficiency and growth
Suite of headline (public)
and supporting (internal)
indicators to track
performance
Implementation Unit helps to
ensure all political
commitments are delivered
SDPs lay out how departments
will deliver their priorities within
their settlements
Operational Delivery
• Driving cross-cutting policy
delivery through
Implementation Taskforces
• Extending skills by creating
Departmental Implementation
Units
• Reporting on operational
performance & delivery to PM
• Targeted interventions and
‘deep dives’ where delivery is
off-track

3. Single Departmental Plans have 4 core aims
• Set clear priorities for departments, encompassing manifesto
commitments, critical business-as-usual activity and efficiency &
productivity initiatives
• Ensure that these priorities are linked to spend and are deliverable
within each department’s Spending Review settlement
• Provide reporting against a clear set of metrics that will be useful to
inform spending decisions, and indicate potential future risks
• Organise and rationalise Management Information (MI) from the
centre to reduce burdens placed on departments
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1
2
3
4

4. SDPs will contain a number of different elements
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IMPLEMENTATION TASKFORCES (ITF) 11 Ministerial-led Taskforces,
focused on cross-cutting
delivery priorities (e.g.
Childcare, Immigration)
17 Single Departmental
Plans, bringing together the
key objectives and activities
of each department
Balance between
cross-cutting and
departmental
performance
management

5. We are developing each SDP and its underlying
indicators in a number of stages
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Guidance created by
central team
Publication of top line
plans & indicators; sign
off full plans
Final review by Centre;
published content
finalised
Iteration by departments,
incorporating feedback &
SR decisions
Internal review by all
teams in the Centre
Departments draft plans
and indicatorsIssued to
departments
Formal
Ministerial
submissions
to CO/HMT
Formal,
combined
feedback note
Formal
Ministerial
submissions
to CO/HMT
Departmental
publication
Spending Review
Input
Ministerial steers Departmental priorities Central priorities
Manifesto commitments
Existing targets
Board reports
Existing data collection
Efficiency Plans
SR Guidance
Dept. workshops
Historical review
We are here

6. We are building strong central accountability mechanisms,
while maintaining departmental autonomy
Implementation Taskforces attended by Ministers
& officials from departments
Clear, simple SDP Guidance issued from Cabinet
Office and HM Treasury Ministers
Named officials for each aspect of the SDP
Departments report to Parliament on SDP
progress in their Mid-year and End-of-year reports
The civil service’s Corporate Management Board
will manage efficiency element of SDPs
Permanent Secretary Objectives aligned to SDPs
Ministerial stocktakes will take effect from 2016
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Departments set their own objectives & indicators
- central team as ‘constructive challenge’ only
Format and content of each SDP not prescribed
(no set template1). Departments interpret guidance in
a way that suits their business
SDPs will mirror departmental board reporting –
not a new or additional reporting burden
SDPs have brought together many different functions
in departments – strategy, finance, policy, non-
executives
Consistent framework & strong
accountability Departmental autonomy
1. Web content will appear in a standard format for continuity
Hypothesis: Departments should know how to run their own business

7. ‘Value Maps’ will be used to link Single
Departmental Plans to financial resources
Purpose
• Visualisation of government spend, split by department > objective >
programme
• Assesses understanding of spend and efficiency for each block of spend
Way it works
• Department breaks down spend into key blocks – aligned to SDP
objectives where possible
• Department conducts a systematic assessment of:
• How well it understands spend in each area
• How well it understands efficiency of that spend
• Opportunities for improvement in understanding or efficiency
Progress so far
• Initial pilot completed by all departments in Spring 2015
• Four phase-2 pilots currently ongoing, to inform full technical guidance being
written by Government Finance and the Government Economic Service
• Full rollout to all departments Jan 2016
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Objective 1
£Xbn
Objective 3
£Xbn
Objective 2
£Xbn
Objective 4
£Xbn
Prog. 1
£Xm
Prog. 3
£Xm
Prog. 2
£Xm
Prog.
4
£Xm
Prog.
5 £Xm
Programmes
Objectives

8. Costing projects are 6-8 week
engagements designed to…
Bring new capabilities to interrogate data and
present insights in an interesting way
e.g. findings and materials for meetings with
senior ministers and officials
Uncover opportunities to deliver services
more efficiently and effectively
e.g. at the UK border, designing an operating
model informed by cost data (see right)
Develop one version of the truth on cross-
cutting areas of spend
e.g. across the police, courts and prisons
delivering criminal justice
Total spend 1-3
1 2 3
£
£
£
Outcom
e
x2 HMG at the Border
Health & Social Care
Further Education
Departures & Removals
Criminal Justice (LDN)Mental Health
For more information, please email govfinance@hmtreasury.gsi.gov.uk
‘Costing projects’ are building understanding of
spending in large complex cross-cutting areas
Research & Science

9. Contact details:
Simon Madden (Uk Cabinet Office): simon.madden@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Johannes Wolff (UK Treasury): Johannes.wolff@hmtreasury.gsi.gov.uk
Questions?
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