What Makes a Good Review
Key steps flowchart
Ministerial foreword
Executive summary
Part one: Introduction
Introduction
Who this guidance is for
What this guidance is for
How this guidance is structured
Recognising the bigger picture
Delivery mechanisms
Past performance
Improving future performance
Listening to customers, staff and other stakeholders
Partnership working
Joint or parallel reviews
Making better use of technology
Co-terminosity of boundaries
Identifying and spreading good practice
Framework Documents and Management Statements
Part Two: General issues
Introduction
Planning and preparation
Timing of a review
Timing and links with better quality services and public spending reviews
How long should a review take?
How to announce the review
Who should carry out the review?
Involvement of the Agency or NDPB in the review
The role of the Cabinet Office and theTreasury
Role of the devolved administrations
How to announce the results of the review (Stage One and Two)
Superseded guidance
Further information
Part Three: Fact sheets
Fact Sheet 1 Minimum
requirements for the reviews of Advisory and Tribunal NDPBs and Boards of Visitors of
Penal Establishments
Fact Sheet 2 Assessing different delivery
mechanisms
Fact Sheet 3 Assessing how well Government
policies have been delivered
Fact Sheet 4 Improving future performance
Fact Sheet 5 Listening to customers, staff
and other stakeholders
Fact Sheet 6 Effective partnership working
Fact Sheet 7 Joint and parallel reviews
Fact Sheet 8 Making better use of new
technology
Fact Sheet 9 Agency Framework Documents
Fact Sheet 10 Executive NDPB Management
Statements
Fact Sheet 11 Better Quality Services
Reviews
From Marjorie Mowlam,
Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs) are at the heart of our programme
to modernise government. They provide key services which are central to the activities of
government and affect the lives of all of us.
We want these services to continually improve and to modernise so that those who use
them get high quality services which are responsive to their needs. To help achieve this,
we must review regularly organisation and performance to make sure we are delivering what
people need.
Regular and effective reviews of Agencies and NDPBs are a powerful tool for bringing
about change and improvement. They represent an external challenge to whether the
approaches of the past remain relevant. With Modernising Government, there is now a
growing need to use such reviews to drive forward change and to fit organisations into the
bigger picture of what the Government is trying to achieve. Reviews also need to take much
greater account of the views of customers and staff if Agencies and NDPBs are to be more
responsive to the needs of those who use their services. And they need to be much more
forward looking: paving the way for Agencies and NDPBs to improve performance in the
future through the opportunities provided by partnership and new technology.
As promised in the Modernising Government White Paper, this new guidance sets out a
radical new approach to the way in which we review organisation and performance in order
to deliver services that are higher quality, more responsive and better integrated.
I encourage you to make the most of this guidance. It has been written following a
period of extensive consultation and reflects the views of those who have carried out
reviews and those who have been reviewed. I hope both will find it a practical help as you
strive to make the most of the opportunities that these reviews provide for delivering
better services.
MARJORIE MOWLAM
1. The Modernising Government White Paper set out the Government’s commitment to
achieve better public services that are of higher quality; and are more responsive to
meeting the needs of the people who use them. The services and functions provided by
Executive Agencies and executive Non Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs) are at the heart
of this programme of continuous improvement. Agencies account for over three quarters of
central government’s workforce, and both they and NDPBs are responsible for
delivering key services to people: helping people find jobs, paying benefits to those in
need, collecting revenues, protecting our environment and heritage.
2. This guidance sets out a radically new approach to the way in which Government
Departments should review Agencies and executive NDPBs so that they deliver better
services to the public, easily accessible and simple to use. Agency and NDPB reviews are a
major component of a programme of continuous improvement based on five principles:
challenge; compare; consult; compete; and collaborate.
The Government is using these principles to build on its Best Value approach to local
government, and complement the existing scrutiny of central government carried out
by the National Audit Office and by Parliament. These principles are also being acted upon
by setting clear targets through Departmental and cross-cutting Public Service Agreements
and through the Better Quality Services initiative, reviewing all central government
activities and functions to identify the ‘best supplier’.
3. This guidance has three main aims:
(i) to ensure that all Agencies and NDPBs are subject to regular and challenging
review, taking into full account the views and needs of their customers, staff and their
trade unions, and other stakeholders;
(ii) to ensure that we put in place the right structures for these bodies, so that they
deliver the Government’s agenda effectively, and work in an effective and joined-up
way; and
(iii) to provide a strong focus on improving their future performance, including the
scope for more partnership working, and better use of new technology.
4. Part One of the guidance is designed to give Ministers and Departments an overview
on what to look for in reviewing executive Agencies and NDPBs. Part Two provides guidance
on general issues which will be relevant to most reviews; and Part Three provides more
detailed guidance on specific issues and aspects to look for in the form of fact sheets.
5. The key features of the new approach are as follows:
(i) Regular reviews: Reviews should, as now, take place at least every five years.
Where it makes sense, reviews may be brought forward, for instance to fit in with the
timing of the public spending review; or be delayed, for example, to allow the results of
other work to inform the review. In such cases, prior approval of Cabinet Office and
Treasury Ministers is required for Agencies, and for large NDPBs with staff of 100 or
more. In addition, it is open to Agencies and NDPBs to fulfil their commitment to Better
Quality Services reviews through their quinquennial review. In most cases, where the
Agency or NDPB is not too large, quinquennial reviews can be structured to achieve this.
(ii) The bigger picture: Agencies and NDPBs do not exist in isolation from the rest of
Government; they contribute to the delivery of wider departmental and governmental
objectives. In thinking about how an Agency or NDPB fits into what the Government wants to
achieve more widely, the starting point is likely to be the departmental and cross-cutting
Public Service Agreements (PSAs) which set out the aims and objectives of each department
along with the targets identified in order to achieve them.
(iii) All options should be considered: Agency reviews should consider all options
including: abolition, continued Agency or NDPB status, market testing, merger or
rationalisation, privatisation and strategic contracting out. Each of the organisational
options should be assessed equally on its merits. The new guidance changes the previous
assumption that there should be a hierarchical approach, although it is likely to make
sense to consider the question of abolition early on in the interests of the efficient
handling of the review. The arrangements for NDPBs are different. Reviews will continue to
be required to consider first whether the function is required at all, and if it is,
whether an NDPB is the best option for its delivery. This reflects the Government’s
view that we should seek to reduce the number of NDPBs. In practice, it may sometimes be
the case that the best means of delivering services and functions in the future will be a
combination of more than one of the options mentioned above. Where appropriate Public
Private Partnerships and Joint Ventures should be considered.
(iv) Joined-up Government: The starting point for reviews will remain the single Agency
or NDPB. But the new guidance makes clear that there may be occasions when it makes more
sense to look at a number of organisations at the same time, either as part of the same
review (joint) or using two or more reviews running concurrently (parallel). In addition,
each review will consider the scope for closer working between different parts of the
public sector (e.g. central and local government) as well as with the private sector.
(v) New focus on future improvements: the guidance makes clear that if Ministers agree
that continued Agency or NDPB status is the right organisational structure, the second
phase of the review should be forward-looking, providing a much greater emphasis on how
services and functions can be provided more effectively in the future, including the use
of new technology.
6. The guidance sets out in some detail how reviews are to be carried out. Key points
include:
(i) A two-stage approach: in line with the new emphasis on Agencies’ performance,
the guidance provides for a two-stage approach for Agencies (NDPB reviews are already
undertaken in two stages), under which the organisational options are considered first and
then if Agency or NDPB status is confirmed, a forward-looking examination should take
place as to how to improve performance. This replaces the previous three-stage approach
for Agencies. In practice, there is likely to be some iteration between the two stages.
(ii) Shorter reviews: the scale of a review should be commensurate with the job to be
done. Larger Agencies and NDPBs, and those with more complex activities will naturally
require more work than smaller and simpler organisations. In addition, those with an
interest must be given sufficient time to contribute. But long running reviews are
counter-productive for the staff working in the Agency/NDPB, and delay service
improvements. Departments therefore should aim to complete stage one within three months
at most (from start to presentation of recommendations to departmental Ministers) and
stage two within a further three months (from agreement of conclusions of the first
stage).
(iii) User and staff focus: finding out what customers want is a key part of the
Modernising Government programme and is vital to achieving the drive for delivering
services which provide what customers want. Customers’ views should inform both
stages of the reviews. So too should the views of Agency or NDPB staff, including those at
the front-line, and their trade unions. Allied to this, Departments should consider
including a member of staff from the Agency or NDPB on the review team to aid the
review’s understanding of the organisation’s business and the context in which
it operates. Departments and Agencies/NDPBs should agree and plan well in advance what
information will be needed for the review, and how it will be collected. Information from
other sources, for example, existing surveys can be used where it is relevant and
sufficiently current. Publicity should be given about reviews in good time to enable all
with an interest to contribute.
(iv) External challenge: Departments, rather than Agencies or NDPBs, are responsible
for carrying out the review on behalf of their Ministers. This is in the interests of
objectivity and as a challenge to internal thinking. Departments must make sure they
devote the right type and level of resources to this task. As part of this, it will
normally be the case that a reviewer from outside the Department will be involved in at
least Stage One of the review and, where appropriate, Stage Two. External representatives
on a review’s Steering Group can also be an effective way of providing independent
input.
(v) Agency/NDPB involvement: although not responsible for carrying out the review, the
Agency or NDPB should be closely involved. Terms of reference for reviews should be made
available to staff and their trade unions, and they should be given the opportunity to put
their views to those undertaking the review. They should be informed of Ministers’
decisions on the result of the review, and consulted on their implementation.
(vi) Good practice: the regular review process provides an excellent opportunity to
help disseminate good practice. There is therefore a requirement on departments to provide
the Cabinet Office with a list of key lessons learnt and good practice identified at the
end of each review, and to include it in the final review report. This can cover both the
conduct of the review and any points relevant to improving the delivery of services. This
information will be placed on the Cabinet Office best practice web site.
Conclusion
7. Regular reviews of Agencies and NDPBs provide an opportunity to make a step change
in the delivery of central Government services to the public. This guidance is designed to
provide a route map towards a fundamental review of their performance over the next five
years in order to deliver services that are higher quality, more responsive and better
integrated.
Part One - Introduction
Part Two - General issues
