Case studies

Our 2016 report contracted-out health and disability assessments found that the Department for Work & Pensions had invested heavily in its performance management team which it increased from 48 people to 80 over two years. However, we recommended the Department tailor its resources to future risks. It recognised that having insufficient skills and expertise remained a major risk.

Large-spending departments, such as the Home Office and Ministry of Justice, have developed approaches to prioritising contracts. This helps them decide whether the resources allocated to each contract are proportionate and address capability issues as covered in the Committee of Public Accounts' 2014 report on transforming contract management. The Home Office told us that it uses a 'heat map' to assign contracts across three tiers. This considers, for example, operational importance, business criticality, contract type and value. The Home Office is flexible in how it uses the model and applies discretion. The Department for Transport told us it has developed a similar model.

The Committee of Public Accounts reported that there was an insufficient focus across government on contract management once a deal had been signed (update on transforming contract management, 2016). More specifically, we found that there were insufficient staff working on the contract at different stages:

•  We found most bidders to be positive about their dialogue with the Ministry of Justice when bidding for transforming rehabilitation (2016 report) contracts but teams had appeared stretched in dealing with so many bidders, increasing the risks connected with the process.

•  The Home Office's COMPASS contracts for the provision of accommodation for asylum seekers (2014 report) included areas of risk such as whether suppliers would meet contractual commitments on accommodation quality and maintenance. We recommended it should make better use of its compliance teams to ensure suppliers are meeting their contractual commitments and prioritise its resources, particularly its compliance teams, so that it focused on riskier areas.

•  The value for money of the rural broadband programme (2015 report) depended on scrutinising hundreds of thousands of supplier invoices and carrying out follow-up analysis on take-up rates. This needed the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and local bodies to have the skills and capacity to complete these checks. Some local bodies told us that they may not have enough staff, creating a risk that planned measures would not be effective. We recommended that the Department should consider the long-term need for sufficient financially skilled staff to support compliance activities during the contract. Since this report, we have found that the Department has strengthened its value-for-money team which supports local bodies (the Superfast (Rural) Broadband Programme: update 2015).