Cabinet Office Controls. Guidance version 3.1

Transcription

1 Cabinet Office Controls Guidance version 3.1 1

2 Foreword by Francis Maude, Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General When we arrived in Government two years ago we had the immediate and pressing task to deal with the deficit and get public finances under control. To support this, we have built a totally new way of running the operations of central government. Rather than tinker with budgets or trim expenditure here and there - for the first time, like any large business, we created an effective operations centre at the heart of government the Efficiency and Reform Group. The purpose was to properly scrutinise, for the first time, the expenditure of taxpayers money. We introduced tough central expenditure controls on consulting, ICT, recruitment, marketing and property, which helped deliver a staggering 3.75 billion in cash savings in just ten months. These savings were corroborated by the National Audit Office and by PAC. No government has ever achieved such endorsements for efficiency savings before. The controls are not a temporary fix - they are here to stay. Not only will they have helped deliver over 5bn of savings during , with further savings over the rest of this Parliament, but they will also help deliver sustainable long-lasting reforms across Whitehall. They are a core part of a new way of working across central government as we create a leaner, more effective Whitehall machine that manages its finances like the best-run businesses, while more efficiently delivering the services we all rely on. In the coming years the controls will help shape our new efficient ICT strategy; support our ambition to see public services provided digitally by default; help deliver new commercial models such as mutuals and joint ventures as we improve public services; and will continue to help centralise government commodity procurement so we can maximise our bulk-buying potential, and support growth and SMEs. To ensure these controls are used properly across government, the Cabinet Office has worked with departments to produce this rule book on key areas of departmental expenditure. It sets out how the controls work and how expenditure will be approved. My officials have listened to the concerns departments had with the controls processes and earlier sets of guidance, and worked closely with the finance community in particular to ensure this renewed guidance addresses those concerns and is easy to use. This document will be easily accessible, and should be 2

3 compulsory reading for Whitehall civil servants, for members of Arm s Length Bodies, and for workers in the wider public sector. The controls are part of the UK Government s wider success story of tackling its budget deficit while supporting growth. These controls ensure the taxpayers hardearned cash is used as efficiently and effectively as possible. It is not glamorous, but it is the right thing to do. 3

4 Contents 1. Introduction 5 2. The controls at-a-glance 8 3. The controls framework The standard controls process Advertising, Marketing and Communications Strategic Supplier Management, including disputes Commercial Models ICT Digital Service Delivery (inc. ID Assurance) External Recruitment Consultancy Redundancy and Compensation Learning and Development (Civil Service Learning) Property 43 4

5 1. Introduction Purpose of the Cabinet Office controls 1.1. Together with long term structural reform programmes, the Cabinet Office controls are a core component of the work to reduce wasteful expenditure and help reduce the fiscal deficit The controls are a cross-government policy for whose implementation Cabinet Office is responsible. This guidance will help departments and their Arm s Length Bodies (ALBs) to better understand the objectives of the controls, their rules, and how to apply them The controls have three key objectives: - To help organisations stop unnecessary expenditure, such as the use of consultants in cases where the work can be undertaken by in-house resources. - To help organisations deliver value for money, such as supporting an organisation to deliver an ICT project for less cost, without reducing its scope. - To help organisations deliver Government reform, such as ensuring the alignment of a new digital service to the Government s Digital strategy The controls and an explanation of the spending powers that lie beneath them were set out in a letter from the Minister for the Cabinet Office to Secretaries of State on 8 July Cabinet Office has worked in close partnership with organisations to develop this updated guidance version 3.1, which supersedes all previous controls documents. 3 This guidance supplements, and does not replace, Managing Public Money which sets out the overriding principles for dealing with resources used by public sector organisations in the UK. The most recent version of this guidance is available at Cabinet Office Controls guidance Nothing in this document should discourage the application of common sense and good judgement. 1 Previously referred to as the Cabinet Office Actions and Processes, the Cabinet Office controls are referred to throughout this guidance as the controls. 2 Departments and ALBs are referred to throughout this guidance as organisations 3 Including letters from the Minister for the Cabinet Office to Secretaries of State on24 May 2010, 25 October 2010 and 18 February Please refer to Annex 1.1 for a list of Amendments to the Cabinet Office Controls in version 3.1 from version 2.2 5

6 What areas of expenditure do the controls cover? 1.7. The controls cover expenditure in: Advertising and marketing and communications; Strategic Supplier Management, including disputes; Commercial models; ICT; Digital Service Delivery (inc.id Assurance); External Recruitment; Consultancy; Redundancy and Compensation; Learning and Development; and Property. Which organisations are within scope of the controls? 1.8. The controls apply to all organisations classified as central government by the Office of National Statistics (ONS). To find out if an organisation is classified as central government, please refer to the ONS National Accounts Sector Classification index The controls typically cover: - all central government departments; - the majority of Arm s Length Bodies (ALBs), which includes: - the majority of government agencies; - the majority of non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs); 5 - most other non-market bodies that are majority controlled and/or financed by departments; and - certain public corporations. 6 Which organisations are not in scope of the controls? The following organisations are not in scope: Broadcasters; The NHS; Further education colleges, universities and academies; Olympic bodies; and Site Licence Companies Requests for an organisation to be made exempt from the controls will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Requests should be submitted to 4 Please click: National Accounts Sector Classification - Classification Update X month > data in this release > Public Sector Classification Guide X month. 5 Please note that departments have a responsibility to ensure that their ALB s comply with the controls. At the time of publication, not all ALBs are within scope of the Learning and Development control see section This includes the following public corporations: BRB (Residuary) Ltd Defence Support Group Companies House Defence Science and Technology Laboratories Land Registry Driving Standards Agency Export Credits Guarantee Department NHS Blood and Transplant Audit Commission Meteorological Office Vehicle and Operator Services Agency Patent Office (t/a The UK Intellectual Property Office) Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency 6

7 and copied to the relevant Treasury spending team. 7

8 2. The controls at-a-glance 2.1. For ease of reference, this section provides a brief overview of the scope, approval limits and key contacts for each control. Please note that this section should be used alongside the detailed controls guidance in sections Broadly, Level 1 approval refers to expenditure that requires departmental approval, Level 2 refers to expenditure that requires Cabinet Office led approval, and Level 3 approval refers to expenditure that requires Treasury led approval. A list of frequently asked questions on the controls is at Annex 2.1. Control What is in scope? Approval limits Contact Advertising, Marketing and Communications - advertising and marketing, including digital activity. - consultation activities including: associated publicity, events, resources and materials, research, analysis and evaluation; - communication strategy, planning, concept and proposition testing and development. - market research, printing, publications, events, conferences and exhibitions and public relations activity. - Level 1 - as set by departments. - Level 2 - advertising, marketing and communications of 100k or above. - Level 3 - department s main delegated limit. All queries relating to this control should be directed to marketing.freeze@cabinetoffice.gsi.gov.uk. All evaluations should be sent to: ERGevaluation@co.gsi.gov.uk 8

9 Strategic Supplier Management, including disputes - expenditure and dealings with any of government s strategic suppliers (listed at Annex 6.1) and other suppliers when they are providing banking services. In particular: - any new expenditure, contract extension, or negotiations that will result in a material change, or major contract variation to the services being delivered. - disputes of any value. - Level 1 - as set by the departments - Level m for new expenditure. - any contract extension with a value over 5m. - any material changes to services resulting in major contract variation with a value over 5m. - any dispute with a strategic supplier. - Level 3 - department s main delegated limit. All queries relating to this control should be directed to strategic.suppliers@cabinetoffice.gsi.gov.uk, or call Commercial Models - all disposals of a business, the assets involved in delivering a service, or both. - all outsourcing contracts, or significant extension of existing contract. - the creation of any new organisation, including a spin-off from central government, (mutual) joint venture, GovCo, charity, social enterprise, or other mutual organisation. - the creation of a new organisation will be in scope of the control regardless of whether the value of any outsourcing contract that it undertakes has a value of less than 5m. If in doubt whether the control applies to you, please contact the Commercial Models team for guidance. - Level 1 - as set by departments. - Level 2-5m for outsourcing transactions, otherwise there is no lower limit. - Level 3 - department s main delegated limit, PFI deals. All queries relating to this control should be directed to: commercialmodels@cabinet office.gsi.gov.uk. 9

10 ICT - all ICT expenditure, whether it is a contract (including contract amendments and extensions); licenses; expenditure through existing frameworks; feasibility and/or proof of concept studies; pilots; projects (or an element of a project) and programmes. - common infrastructure solutions include voice and data communications, Public Services Networks (PSN) whether fixed or mobile. Please refer to the PSN webpage for further guidance. - Level 1 - as set by departments, but it is recommended that organisations engage with the relevant ICT Strategy Senior Responsible Owner. - Level 2 - ICT expenditure over: - 5 million (full lifetime costs). - 1million on current or new back office / administrative systems, including ERP systems, HR systems, Finance / Accounting systems, procurement systems. The control includes implementation, licensing and support costs, as well as any extension to those services k on common infrastructure solutions for PSN (policy limit agreed by CIO Delivery Board). - Level 3 - department s main delegated authority. All queries relating to this control should be directed to: Unclassified: ictfutures@digital.cabinetoffice.gov.uk Restricted: ictspendapproval@cabinetoffice.gsi.gov.uk Asset and Services Knowledgebase tool, ASK ICT: ASKICT@cabinetoffice.gsi.gov.uk. PSN Transition lead for central government: psn@cabinetoffice.gsi.gov.uk. General enquiries: Digital service delivery, including ID Assurance - all departmental expenditure on Identity Assurance, digital services, including the commissioning of all government digital activity. - Level 1 - as set by departments. - Level 2 - all digital services (there is no lower limit). - Level 3 - department s main delegated authority. Departmental Digital leaders, or to: pmo@digital.cabinetoffice.gov.uk. 10

11 External recruitment - any new permanent recruitment; - any new direct temporary recruitment (i.e. fixed-term appointments); - any new indirect temporary recruitment (i.e. agency staff, interim managers, specialist contractors and all professional services, excluding consultancy, which is subject to a separate control); - any inward secondment or loan from an external organisation; and - extensions of existing temporary recruitment. - Level 1 - as set by departments. In ministerial departments and in scope NDPBs, approval is the responsibility of the Secretary of State. In non-ministerial departments, it is the responsibility of the chief executive. - Secretaries of State may choose to delegate sign-off responsibility for exceptions to chief executives, permanent secretaries or to directors general. Where Secretaries of State choose to do this, they must review the process regularly by requiring delegates to submit reports at least monthly via the Permanent Secretary. - Level 2 - Cabinet Office is not directly involved in recruitment approvals. However departments are required to submit quarterly recruitment forecasts and accompanying narrative to Cabinet Office. This is to enable ongoing monitoring of the effectiveness of the control. The reports also set the basis for ongoing dialogue between the Cabinet Office and departmental strategic workforce contacts. - Level 3 -not applicable. All queries relating to this control should be directed to: recruitment@cabinetoffice.gsi.gov.uk. 11

12 Consultancy - The control applies to any central governmental consultancy expenditure over 20,000 - Level 1- all consultancy expenditure above 20, Level 2 - all consultancy expenditure above 20,000 in cases where: - New contracts are expected to exceed 9 months. - Existing contracts are to be extended beyond 9 months. - Expenditure on procurement related consultancy. - Level 3 - department s main delegated authority. All queries relating to this control should be directed to: pscclfreeze.mailbox@gps.gsi. gov.uk. Redundancy & compensation - All redundancy schemes (either under CSCS or an analogous scheme) offered to staff are in scope. - Level 1 - as set by departments. - Level 2 - all schemes must be approved by Cabinet Office. Any scheme that offers more than 100% of the standard tariff will need to show clear business reasons for doing so. Access to any ring-fenced expenditure will not normally be agreed by Treasury without Cabinet Office approval for the scheme. - Level 3 - departments main delegated authority. All queries relating to this control should be directed to redundancyschemes@cabin et-office.gsi.gov.uk. 12

13 Civil Service Learning - Department specific L&D services. - Generic L&D services and any (new or contract extensions). - Department-specific L&D services (new or contract extensions). - Level 1 - Department specific L&D services up to 10k. - Level 2 - Generic L&D services and any (new or contract extensions). - Department-specific L&D services above 10k (new or contract extensions). - Level 3 - not applicable. Queries relating to this control should be directed to the CSL Gateway Team Helpline: Tel or cslgatewaypf.mailbox@hmr c.gsi.gov.uk. Property - new leases / licences and renewals of existing leases / licences; - the non-exercise of lease break options; - new property acquisitions (including those made through a Private Finance Initiative provider); - new build developments, sale and leaseback, and any freehold sales; and - all new facilities management (FM) contracts and contract extensions must be approved by the FM Category Board and meet with the GPU FM cmpliance criteria. - Level 1 - rental expenditure under 100,000 during the life of the lease commitment. - Level 2 - rental expenditure above 100,000 during the life of the lease commitment. Approval must be sought for all new and extended FM contracts, regardless of financial commitment. - Level 3 department s main delegated authority. All queries relating to this control should be directed to either: For Property: NationalPropertyControls@ cabinet-office.gsi.gov.uk For FM: gpufm@cabinetoffice.gsi.gov.uk 13

14 3. The controls framework 3.1. As always, organisations should follow the rules set out in Managing Public Money. The controls operate within those rules, and specifically within the framework of Treasury approval of expenditure and the practice of Treasury delegating authority to departments to enter into commitments and expenditure within predefined limits without specific prior approval. The controls relate to the actions and processes contained in Annex B of departmental delegated authority letters For the majority of the controls, the Treasury has lowered the level of delegation and will not approve expenditure without Cabinet Office s prior approval. Where a control is a delegated limit, all of the normal rules for delegated limits apply For other controls, Cabinet Office approval is required for levels of expenditure above certain thresholds in areas that have been collectively agreed as Government policy at the Public Expenditure Committee (Efficiency and Reform) For all controls, the normal rules in Managing Public Money governing the treatment of expenditure apply. As is consistent with those rules, the controls apply to the total relevant expenditure, including whether it is part of a larger contract, project or programme, or whether it is commissioning a third party to deliver on an organisation s behalf Figure 1 below sets out the three levels of approval that the controls require. The level of approval is usually dependent on the level of expenditure, although some controls only ever require departmental approval. 14

15 Figure 1 - The three levels of approval Level of approval 3 Government Major Project Portfolio (GMPP) spend approval led by Treasury, in collaboration with Major Projects Authority and Cabinet Office controls teams 2 Cabinet Office led approval in collaboration with Treasury 1 Departmental approval Department s main delegated limit (e.g. 50m) Cabinet Office control delegation (e.g. 5m for ICT) Level 1 Departmental Approval 3.6. Level 1 approval applies to expenditure within a department s delegated authority that must be approved within a department Ministers are encouraged to establish clear expenditure approval processes and thresholds for their department and ALBs. For the external recruitment and consultancy controls, Level 1 approval is mandatory Please note that for certain controls, Cabinet Office must approve all expenditure. For further guidance on Level 1 approvals, please refer to departmental internal guidance on expenditure approval processes and thresholds, or alternatively contact departmental central finance teams. 7 Please refer to sections 10 and 11 respectively. 15

16 Level 2 - Cabinet Office led approval 3.9. Level 2 approval applies to expenditure above a department s delegated authority as set out by the controls - for example, expenditure above 5m for ICT projects/programmes - but below the main delegated limit as set out in the department s Delegated Authority letter. Treasury spending teams will be informed of Level 2 requests, and where a request is above a delegated limit, their approval sought before a final decision is made. Please refer to section 4 for further detail on Level 2 approval. Level 3: Treasury led approval / Major Projects Level 3 approval applies to all major projects, or expenditure above a department s main delegated authority, as set out in their departmental Delegated Authority letter. A Major Project is defined as a central Government funded project or programme that requires HM Treasury approval during its life, as set out in Delegated Authority letters Cabinet Office will support Treasury in its approval of major projects that have elements of Level 2 expenditure for example a major project with an ICT element. In addition, the Major Projects Authority (MPA) in the Cabinet Office will continue its role to lead on major project assurance and responsibility for the Government s Major Project Portfolio (GMPP) Departments should follow existing approval and assurance processes for Major Projects. For further detail, please refer to the joint Treasury/MPA publication Major Projects approval and assurance guidance. Arm s Length Bodies (ALBs) The expenditure limits set out in this guidance apply to all ALB s and departments in scope equally. As set out in Managing Public Money, it is for departments to set delegation below Treasury and Cabinet Office thresholds and the process for departmental approval applicable to ALBs To avoid unnecessary additional burdens on ALBs, organisations are encouraged to use forward looks to determine whether approval is necessary, or if possible, gain pre-approval. 8 Cabinet Office will also work with departments to reduce duplication and where possible give approval in parallel. Accounting Officer Responsibilities The controls do not change the role of the Accounting Officer, as set out in Chapter 3 of Managing Public Money, paragraph Accounting Officers should ensure...that the organisation s procurement, projects and processes are systematically evaluated and assessed to provide confidence about suitability, effectiveness, prudence, quality, good value and avoidance of error 8 Please refer to section 4 for a definition of forward look. 16

17 and other waste, judged for the public sector as a whole, not just for the Accounting Officer s organisation If an Accounting Officer is concerned that expenditure does not represent value for money for their organisation, despite representing good value for money for the public sector as a whole, then they should discuss this with the Treasury and Cabinet Office. Section 3.4 of Managing Public Money covers potential conflicts between Accounting Office responsibilities and instructions from ministers. 17

18 28 day commitment 4. The standard controls process 4.1. This section outlines the standard process for gaining Cabinet Office approval. 9 Early engagement department shares forward look with Cabinet Office to ensure alignment and gain pre-approval where appropriate, or agrees when approval is needed When department wishes to seek formal approval, it submits request(s) copying in SPOC Cabinet Office ensures all of the necessary approvals are made (in particular HM Treasury) Cabinet Office confirms if enough information has been provided and assigns lead case worker to coordinate all approvals Cabinet Office scrutinises request and works with the organisation to reach approval Cabinet Office informs the organisation of initial opinion and any conditions Final decision made by Minister for the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury Cabinet Office informs the organisation of the decision and any conditions Figure 2 - The standard controls process 4.2. Arm s Length Bodies should submit expenditure requests via their sponsoring department. 9 The process for the external recruitment control differs slightly. Please refer to section 10 for more detail. 18

19 Single Points of Contact 4.3. Each department has a Single Point of Contact (SPOC) for the controls. SPOCs should be contacted in the first instance for queries relating to the controls SPOCs should also be copied into all expenditure requests from organisations and approval decisions from Cabinet Office. For a role description and list of departmental SPOCs, please refer to Annex 4.1. Forward look 4.5. For each control, Cabinet Office will hold a forward look pipeline of all future expenditure requests for each organisation. Forward looks will enable Cabinet office to: - Develop strategic overview of departmental expenditure and thereby make better informed decisions. This may also reduce the number of requests as Cabinet Office will be better placed to advise departments on the best time to submit a request, or whether they are required to submit one at all; - Offer better support to departments earlier on in the process in identifying opportunities for savings and improved ways of delivery; - Integrate the controls into existing processes, such as the Treasury Approvals Process, and/or Integrated Action and Assurance Plans; and 10 - Reduce the time taken to respond to requests as the controls teams will be able to assign resource depending on the number of anticipated requests In general, all forward looks should contain information detailing the rationale and amount for all future expenditure that will require level 2 or 3 approval, and the date in which it will occur For most controls, departments should submit forward looks (including for its ALBs) to Cabinet Office a quarterly basis. Forward looks and will also be complemented with meetings between departments and controls officials. Early Engagement 4.8. Early engagement (before the point at which Cabinet Office formal approval is required), will significantly increase the effectiveness of the controls for organisations by allowing Cabinet Office to provide useful steers to help improve delivery and reduce unnecessary costs. 10 For further details please refer to Major Projects approval and assurance guidance. 11 Please refer to individual controls guidance in sections 5-14 for additional information that me be required. 19

20 4.9. When planning expenditure that will require level 2 approval, organisations must engage early with the Cabinet Office before any funds have been committed. For most projects, this will typically be at the post Starting Gate stage, or alongside a Strategic Outline Business Case Organisations should contact the Cabinet Office to organise a discussion as early as possible. It will be then be the responsibility of the Cabinet Office to decide the next steps, and which Cabinet Office officials should be involved in the request Contact will typically be via the relevant controls team. If you are not sure who to contact, or for all other general queries relating to the controls, please contact ergstrategy@cabinet-office.gsi.gov.uk. Decisions and no wrong door Organisations should submit expenditure requests to the relevant Cabinet Office controls team, copied to their Treasury spending team and SPOC. 13 Cabinet Office will notify the organisation if sufficient information has been submitted to start the approval, and/or if any further information is required. A decision will be given within a maximum of 28 calendar days, however where possible this will be given sooner. 14 Cabinet Office will share its performance against this target with departments on a quarterly basis If an expenditure request requires approval from more than one control, the controls team leading on the request will be responsible for coordinating all the necessary approvals on behalf of the organisation Cabinet Office, with the Treasury, will then make a decision to approve, amend or reject the request. Decisions and any conditions will always be discussed with organisations before they are finalised. Once a decision has been reached, the Cabinet Office will inform the department, and where necessary, set out the approval conditions and whether the case needs to return at a later stage in the project cycle Where delegated expenditure has been given conditional approval, the National Audit Office (NAO) may audit this as part of the organisation s standard audit of regularity. Both the Cabinet Office and the organisation should monitor approved expenditure to ensure that any conditions are being met If actual expenditure increases above the amount approved, organisations must notify the Cabinet Office of the level and reason for the over spend. In recognition of the level of uncertainty within forecast expenditure, Cabinet 12 Cabinet Office recognises that figures provided at this stage may change as a business case develops. 13 The controls team that makes up the largest proportion of the expenditure request. 14 Please refer to Annex 4.2 for details of the Cabinet Office Service Level Agreements. 15 For example, approval from Treasury, Crown Representatives, and/or SROs for the ICT Strategy. 20

21 Office may grant tolerance limits. However in other cases, Cabinet Office may require the expenditure to be re-approved If an expenditure request forms part of a Major Project already under scrutiny by the MPA, organisations may submit their request through their MPA departmental account manager who will direct the request to the relevant controls official. Reporting As set out in the Treasury guidance, all organisational spending over 25,000 must be published online. In addition, approved expenditure requests for the ICT, advertising and marketing, recruitment, property and consultancy controls must also be published Approved expenditure requests should be published alongside Quarterly Data Summaries on departmental websites and on data.gov.uk. Please refer to Annex 4.3 for further guidance on reporting. Breaches Breaches of the controls are taken very seriously. Breach of a control that is also a delegated limit will lead to irregular expenditure and, in some instances, may result in the NAO qualifying an organisation s accounts. Cabinet Office will inform the NAO of any breaches and will work with Treasury to recover the monies from the organisation. Breaches may also result in the Treasury and Cabinet Office reducing an organisation s delegated limits Breach of a control which is also Government Policy will be a contravention of government policy that has been agreed at Cabinet Committee. If an organisation does not take steps to rectify such a breach with Cabinet Office s support, the Minister for the Cabinet Office will notify the Public Accounts Committee and the Public Expenditure (Efficiency and Reform) Committee and ensure that the organisation is held to account If an organisation has committed expenditure without approval (i.e. it is irregular), they must contact the Cabinet Office immediately and seek retrospective approval. Cabinet Office (and the Treasury) may give retrospective approval where: - they would have granted approval in the first instance had the organisation followed the standard controls process; and - the organisation is taking steps to ensure that there is no recurrence. Continuous improvement of the controls and departmental engagement Cabinet Office is committed to continually improving the controls and has a formal programme of engagement with SPOCs and finance directors for

22 13. This programme will include regular meetings with departments to discuss forward planning and the process across all of the controls If an organisation feels that the SLAs are not being met, or they are not receiving the service they expect, it should notify its SPOC who will then discuss any concerns with Cabinet Office. Cabinet Office will also consult departments well in advance of any changes to the controls. 22

23 5. Advertising, marketing and communications Policy Summary 5.1. Control of government advertising, marketing and communications expenditure ensures that only essential activity continues. The control ensures that future advertising, marketing and communications expenditure will be more transparent, better coordinated and less bureaucratic. What is in scope of this control? 5.2. This control applies to the following: - advertising including: TV; radio; digital advertising; outdoor; print; advertorials; recruitment; costs of media; fees and commission for media buying; media planning; creative development and production; - marketing activities including: design and branding; direct and relationship marketing; customer relationship management programmes; telemarketing; campaign help lines; partnership marketing; sponsorship marketing; field or experiential marketing; merchandising; advertiserfunded programming; audio-visual activity; storage and distribution of marketing materials; - consultation activities including: associated publicity, events, resources and materials, research, analysis and evaluation; - communication strategy, planning, concept and proposition testing and development; - market research that informs marketing and advertising activity and evaluation of marketing and advertising activity; - printing and publications; - events, conferences and exhibitions; - public relations (PR) activity; and - digital activity including: website and application development; search engine marketing, including pay-per-click; digital display advertising; content partnerships; marketing; mobile and SMS marketing; interactive online content. 23

24 Delegated limits Level 1 - as set by departments. Level 2 - advertising, marketing and communications of 100k or above. Level 3 - department s main delegated limit. Process 5.3. The standard Cabinet Office approval process set out in section 4 applies. Only expenditure on the following essential activity will be approved: - where government has a legal duty to provide people with information, such as changes to legislation or public services; - where marketing and advertising is critical to the effective running of the Government; and - where there is robust evidence that marketing and advertising delivers measurable outcomes that meet government objectives For all approved expenditure, organisations should submit an evaluation report to the Cabinet Office that sets out the success of the activity against its objectives, and provides recommendations for future activity. The report should follow the best practice standards for government communication evaluation, and Cabinet Office will provide further advice on the report when notifying an organisation of an approval. Reports should be submitted to ERGevaluation@co.gsi.gov.uk no later than six months after the activity has ended In addition, all new contracts for the supply of any government advertising and marketing services must be procured only through government frameworks approved by the Cabinet Office. Templates 5.6. Expenditure requests should be submitted to marketing.freeze@cabinetoffice.gsi.gov.uk using the template at Annex 5.1. Contacts 5.7. All queries relating to this control should be directed to marketing.freeze@cabinet-office.gsi.gov.uk. 24

25 6. Strategic Supplier Management, including disputes Policy summary 6.1. Cabinet Office will lead, on the Crown s behalf, key relationships with central government s strategic suppliers. Each strategic supplier will be assigned a Crown Representative (CR) to lead the particular relationship. This crossdepartmental approach will provide effective leveraging of the Crown s commercial position; and routes for direction and escalation to guide departments and strategic suppliers CRs will also oversee delivery of the Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) savings agreed through the renegotiation programme. Monitoring of savings will be managed centrally, and departments will be involved periodically in validating the savings Government will also track the performance of its key suppliers, to enable more effective management of its commercial relationships, to inform future procurement decisions, and to minimise unnecessary cost and delay from disputes, or potential disputes, which arise. What is in scope of this control? 6.4. This control applies to expenditure and dealings with any of government s strategic suppliers with a CR listed in Annex 6.1 and other suppliers when they are providing banking services. In particular: - any new expenditure, - contract extensions, - negotiations that will result in a material change, - major contract variation to the services being delivered. - Disputes, of any value, where the dispute is proposed for escalation to mediation or binding arbitration, or is likely to enter a formal dispute stage in future. This applies to all disputes regardless of whether they are instigated by an organisation or a supplier. Delegated limits Level 1 - as set by the departments 25

26 Level 2-5m for new expenditure. - any contract extension with a value over 5m. - any material changes to services resulting in major contract variation with a value over 5m. - any dispute with a strategic supplier. Level 3 - department s main delegated limit. Process - Strategic Supplier Management control 6.5. The standard Cabinet Office approval process set out in section 4 applies. All expenditure requests with a strategic supplier should be sent to the relevant CR, via the Supplier Relationships team Where an expenditure request is caught by the ICT control, organisations do not need to contact the Commercial Relationships team separately. Crown Representative input will be sought by the Cabinet Office on the organisation s behalf Where an expenditure request is not caught by the ICT control, CR approval and/or input should be sought at the following stages: - Identification of requirement (if it is possible that future expenditure might be placed with a CR supplier). - Prior to development of Strategic Outline Case (if it is possible that future spend might be placed with a CR supplier). - Outline Business Case (if it is possible that future expenditure might be placed with a CR supplier). - Key points in the procurement process (pre-qualification to inform the evaluation, tender evaluation stage, decision to award or appoint preferred supplier - before this is communicated to the supplier at standstill). - Full Business Case Extension requests. The Commercial Relationships team must be informed at least one month in advance of any expenditure commitment. - Major contract variation requests. As with extensions, the Commercial Relationships team must be informed at least one month in advance of any expenditure commitment. 26

27 6.8. Where a CR is also the Commercial Director of the requesting department, Cabinet Office will ensure another CR approves the request to ensure no conflict of interest. Process - Disputes 6.9. Organisations must inform the Cabinet Office of any dispute with central government s strategic suppliers as soon as the dispute is proposed for escalation to mediation or binding arbitration, or is likely to enter a formal dispute stage in future. Cabinet Office may engage with the organisation to obtain additional information and may, in agreement with the organisation, assume a supporting or leading role in helping to manage and resolve the dispute. To facilitate this, organisations should provide the following key details to Cabinet Office: Template - Department or other affected organisation. - Supplier and contract name. - Brief description of dispute or potential dispute. - Total Contract Value/extension value (where relevant). - Contract duration. - Value of any claim or counter-claim. - Indicative timings for key activities Expenditure requests should be submitted to strategic.suppliers@cabinetoffice.gsi.gov.uk. Contacts All queries relating to this control should be directed to strategic.suppliers@cabinet-office.gsi.gov.uk, or call

28 7. Commercial models Policy summary 7.1. The Government will ensure that public services: are provided by the most appropriate operational and commercial model; promote service quality and efficiency; and unlock growth. Transactions covered by the Commercial Models control may be deemed novel or potentially contentious expenditure. What is in scope of this control? 7.2. The following transaction types are covered by the commercial models control: - all disposals of a business, the assets involved in delivering a service, or both; - all outsourcing contracts, or significant extension of existing contract; - the creation of any new organisation, including a spin-off from central government, (mutual) joint venture, GovCo, charity, social enterprise, or other mutual organisation; and - the creation of a new organisation will be in scope of the control regardless of whether the value of any outsourcing contract that it undertakes has a value of less than 5m. If in doubt whether the control applies to you, please contact the Commercial Models team for guidance. Delegated limits Level 1 - as set by departments. Level 2-5m for outsourcing transactions, otherwise there is no lower limit. Level 3 - department s main delegated limit, PFI deals. Process 7.3. The standard Cabinet Office approvals process set out in section 4 applies. If an organisation is contemplating a transaction in scope of the commercial models control, it should contact the commercial models team as soon as possible so that they can assist with early-stage analysis of options. The commercial models team will agree a process for review and approval of relevant transactions after which this guidance will be updated. Template 7.4. Expenditure requests should be submitted to commercialmodels@cabinetoffice.gsi.gov.uk. 28

29 Contacts 7.5. All queries relating to this control should be directed to: 29

30 8. ICT Policy Summary 8.1 This control supports the Government ICT Strategy and Strategic Implementation Plan to deliver better public services for less cost. Through reuse and sharing of our ICT assets, we will improve productivity, efficiency, reduce waste and the likelihood of project failure. This in turn will improve and open up public service delivery by supporting online transactional services for citizens and businesses, and create channels for collaboration and policy debate. What is in scope of this control? 8.1. This control applies to the following: - all ICT expenditure, whether it is a contract (including contract amendments and extensions); licenses; expenditure through existing frameworks; feasibility and/or proof of concept studies; pilots; projects (or an element of a project) and programmes; and - common infrastructure solutions include voice and data communications, Public Services Networks (PSN) whether fixed or mobile. Please refer to the PSN webpage for further guidance The following are excluded: - specialist projects providing military capability directly for use in front line operations; - capability for use by the Security and Intelligence Agencies in support of national security; - contracts that have changed only as a result of the Government s renegotiation with major suppliers; and - ICT spend as a result of Budget tax measures. Delegated limits Level 1 - as set by the departments, but it is recommended that organisations engage with the relevant ICT Strategy Senior Responsible Owner. Level 2 - ICT expenditure over: - 5 million (full lifetime costs). - 1million on current or new back office / administrative systems, including ERP systems, HR systems, Finance / Accounting systems, procurement 30

31 systems. The control includes implementation, licensing and support costs, as well as any extension to those services k on common infrastructure solutions for PSN (policy limit agreed by CIO Delivery Board). Level 3 - department s main delegated authority. Process 8.3. The standard Cabinet Office approvals process set out in section 4 applies. An ICT expenditure control form should be submitted along with the relevant business case to the ICT controls team, copying the relevant Treasury spending team In their requests, organisations must demonstrate how the expenditure complies with the ICT Strategy and Strategic Implementation Plan. Template 8.5. Expenditure requests should be submitted using the template at Annex 8.1 to: Contacts - Unclassified: ictfutures@digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk - Restricted: ictspendapproval@cabinet-office.gsi.gov.uk 8.6. All queries relating to this control should be directed to: - Unclassified: ictfutures@digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk - Restricted: ictspendapproval@cabinet-office.gsi.gov.uk - Asset and Services Knowledgebase tool, ASK ICT: ASKICT@cabinetoffice.gsi.gov.uk. - PSN Transition lead for central government: psn@cabinetoffice.gsi.gov.uk. - General enquiries:

32 9. Digital service delivery, including ID assurance Policy Summary 9.1. The Digital and ID Assurance controls are designed to support the delivery of Governments Digital Strategy and ID Assurance strategy The Digital Strategy established a Digital by Default approach to the delivery of all services and laid out a plan for all digital government to migrate to a Single Government Domain The ID Assurance Strategy supports digital delivery by ensuring customers can access digital services in a consistent, convenient and trustworthy manner by establishing a common set of Identity Assurance standards and accreditation requirements. What is in scope of this control? 9.4. All future organisational activity on digital services must be agreed by the Government Digital Service (GDS), which has responsibility for: - Setting cross-government digital policy and strategy; - agreeing organisational expenditure on digital services, including assessing new service development for digital delivery and approving business cases for new digital services; - overseeing commissioning of all government digital activity; and - measuring and assuring quality of digital public services (including ensuring all government digital services meet minimum performance criteria before they launch so that they meet customer needs, and achieve intended business benefits and cost reduction) and ensuring transparency of performance. Delegated limits Level 1 - as set by departments. Level 2 - all digital services (there is no lower limit). Level 3 - department s main delegated authority. 32

33 Process - Digital Service Delivery 9.5. Following the formal launch of GDS, Digital Leaders have been appointed in each department to oversee all digital activity in departments and liaise with GDS (see Annex 9.1). GDS will agree a revised process for approval of digital expenditure with Digital Leaders, after which this guidance will be updated In the interim, the ICT or advertising, marketing and communications controls should be used for digital expenditure where relevant. All expenditure requests should be supported by Departmental Digital Leaders When creating or purchasing digital products or services, organisations must comply with the controls described elsewhere in this document for: ICT expenditure, strategic supplier management, commercial models and centralised procurement for commodity goods and services. In line with Treasury guidance no public commitments (including going to market) should be made without approval Departments are required to agree a Digital Strategy with GDS by the end of Through this process a higher delegated limit may be requested by an individual Department, and will be considered for approval subject to appropriate assurances on digital spending plans. Template 9.9. Expenditure requests should be submitted to: Contacts - Unclassified: ictfutures@digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk. - Restricted: ictspendapproval@cabinet-office.gsi.gov.uk All queries relating to this control should be directed to either Departmental Digital Leaders, or to pmo@digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk. 33

34 Process - ID Assurance The standard Cabinet Office approval process set out in section 4 applies. Approval of expenditure for ID Assurance related services will be through the ICT control, and organisations should comply with this process for all related expenditure In addition, and a precondition to formal consideration by the ICT control, proposals must be collectively agreed through the cross-government IDA Programme Board, which meets fortnightly Proposals should be submitted to the Board secretariat and will be considered for agreement in line with the IDA Programme Board's agreed approval processes. The Board may request further information or modifications to the proposal, may set conditions on approval or may refuse the proposal. Organisations should bring proposals to the board in a timely manner, to allow for delays to approval through requirement for discussion or modification of the proposal. Template Proposals for the Identity Assurance Programme Board should be submitted to: nick.turner@digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk Expenditure requests should be submitted to: Contacts - Unclassified: ictfutures@digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk. - Restricted: ictspendapproval@cabinet-office.gsi.gov.uk All queries relating to this control should be directed to: - Unclassified: ictfutures@digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk. - Restricted: ictspendapproval@cabinet-office.gsi.gov.uk. - General enquiries:

35 10. External Recruitment Policy summary The control on external recruitment has been in place since May 2010 as a measure to manage pay bill costs. The control is in place until April 2013, and will be reviewed again in January What is in scope of this control? The control applies to all external recruitment excluding consultants, which includes: - any new permanent recruitment; - any new direct temporary recruitment (i.e. fixed-term appointments); - any new indirect temporary recruitment (i.e. agency staff, interim managers, specialist contractors and all professional services, excluding consultancy which is subject to a separate control); - any inward secondment or loan from an external organisation; and - extensions of existing temporary recruitment The following are excluded: - Civil Service Fast Stream; - apprenticeships; - vacancies arising through a poor performance-related exit; - existing staff - organisations may continue to advertise posts to staff working in other departments, agencies, and accredited NDPBs; and - consultancy, which is subject to a separate control. Delegated limits Level 1 - as set by departments. In ministerial departments and in scope NDPBs, approval is the responsibility of the Secretary of State. In non-ministerial departments, it is the responsibility of the chief executive. Secretaries of State may choose to delegate sign-off responsibility for exceptions to chief executives, permanent secretaries or to directors general. Where Secretaries of 35