Annex 4
MODERNISING GOVERNMENT
Better, more forward looking policy making
The Treasury
— has established fourteen cross-cutting
reviews to look at better ways of tackling problems across Departmental
boundaries.
— has contributed to the PIU report
on analysis and modelling in central government (published in
January 2000 as "Adding it Up"). This identified many
areas in which greater use of analysis and modelling could lead
to greater focus and effectiveness in delivering objectives. The
Treasury will take the lead in implementing the recommendations
of the report, including the creation of a seed-corn fund to support
innovative modelling and analysis.
— has undertaken a study on improving
the management of cross-cutting issues.
— has designed the programme of periodic
Spending Reviews to focus on the delivery of better quality public
services.
— is updating the Green Book—its
guide project appraisal and evaluation for central government
departments and agencies—to ensure that all policies and
programmes are clearly specified and evaluated, and that the lessons
of success and failure are communicated and acted upon.
— is improving the way risk is managed
in the public sector. A survey of current risk management practice
in Departments and agencies and a conference to disseminate best
practice have been completed. Departmental risk frameworks and
work on managing business risk are being developed.
More responsive public services to meet the needs
of citizens: Efficient, high quality public services
Improving the quality and cost effectiveness
of public services is a central Treasury objective.
Information Age Government
The Treasury has designated two officials, one
at Board level, to champion the information age government agenda.
One will represent departmental interests, the other a wider Government
procurement interest.
5. INFRASTRUCTURE
AND RESOURCES
5.1 We recognise that we need to provide
the right tools for the job if we are to make the most effective
use of our high quality staff.
Information technology
5.2 The Treasury has been an advanced user
of IT since the 1960s. In the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s IT mainly
gave us specialist applications to support specific functios (eg
the Treasury Economic Model). Since the early 1990s every core
Treasury staff member has had access to a fully networked office
system.
5.3 Our office IT system has been recognised
for several years as one of our most important tools. It allows
our people to share information easily, facilitating networking;
has significantly increased the speed with which we can do business—a
crucial Treasury need: and has increased our efficiency.
5.4 We have been among the earlier government
departments to adopt new technology. We have had universal internal
e-mail since the early 1990s and it has been our main way of sharing
information internally since 1994. Everyone in the Treasury has
had external e-mail capabilities since 1995 and more recently
we have connected to the Government Secure Internet to allow secure
e-mail communication with other government organisations. In 1996,
we were the first central government department to introduce a
department-wide electronic filing system. In 1999 we provided
everyone with access to the World Wide Web from their desktops.
And from 1999, Treasury staff have been able to log onto the system
securely when away from the office, opening up the potential for
more flexible and effective working patterns.
5.5 We have minimised development time and
risk by using largely off-the-shelf solutions for our main office
system. We carried out a major system upgrade in 1996 and are
now in the middle of our next major enhancement.
5.6 We continue to use specialist applications
in specific business areas, working with private sector software
companies where necessary to develop what is required.
Accommodation
5.7 The Treasury is accommodated in two
buildings: our Parliament Street headquarters and a small office
block in Victoria.
5.8 The main building remains largely as
it was when built in the first quarter of the 20th century, characterised
by cellular offices separated by long corridors. It is inflexible
and inefficient as a large proportion is devoted to unused space
(three large court yards and 17 light wells of varying sizes),
and the cellular offices themselves use space inefficiently. It
makes it harder for the Department to operate in the flexible
and open way it wishes to: in particular, it inhibits face to
face communication. Furthermore, some of the staff involved work
in Victoria.
5.9 Extensive structural and remedial work
is needed to preserve and improve this historic building. The
structure is basically sound but there are problems with water
penetration in the basement areas, and the electrical and safety
systems need replacing. This will be first major refurbishment
of the building since construction.
5.10 To remedy these problems the Treasury
has entered into a private finance contract which will by 2002
see the whole Treasury accommodated at the western end of the
present main building. We are planning the new building so as
to help deliver and reinforce changes in the way in which Treasury
staff work, manage and interact with each other.
5.11 Construction work on the project will
start in the next few months. The new accommodation will retain
the shell and the historic features of the existing building (which
is a grade II* listed structure), but will remove most of the
internal divisions and allow modern, flexible office space. The
east end of the building will go to another public sector occupier:
the lease on our Victoria building will be given up.
5.12 The cost of designing and building
the accommodation will be borne by our private sector partner—Exchequer
Partnership (EP)—who will take on the risks associated with
construction and building management as part of a 35 year deal.
The Treasury will make an annual payment to EP which will be fixed
in real terms. The size of that payment is, for the time being,
commercially confidential. EP are also responsible for finding
another public sector tenant(s) for the east end.
Expenditure
5.13 The Department's expenditure programme
is £221 million in total. Some £77 million relates to
the Office of Government Commerce and its Agencies. A further
£66 million covers our running costs, including a pay bill
of about £35 million. The remainder represents payments to
the Royal Mint for the issue of UK coinage, payments to the Bank
of England, and a number of smaller items. More information on
our expenditure is given in the table below and in the Departmental
Report.
5.14 The Department seeks efficiency gains
across all of its expenditure. In the field of running costs the
most significant efficiency efforts are focussed through the Better
Quality Services initiative. As noted above we are using the European
Foundation for Quality Management's Excellence Model as a key
means of delivering those reviews At the same time we are pursuing
efficiency gains from better IT, better purchasing, greater energy
efficiency and, in the longer run, a more efficient building.
THE TREASURY'S DEPARTMENTAL EXPENDITURE LIMIT
(DEL)
| 1999-00 | 2000-01
|
| £m | £m
|
| Gross running costs | 69 |
66 |
| of which: | |
|
| capital charge | 5 |
0 |
| Debt Management Office | 4
| 5 |
| other running costs | 60
| 61 |
| Receipts of insurance fees | -12
| -14 |
| Other receipts | -3 | -2
|
| Net cost | 53 | 50
|
| Payments to the Financial Services Authority
| 12 | 15 |
| Capital charge receipt | -5
| 0 |
| Other receipts | -2 | -1
|
| Parliamentary bodies | 2 |
4 |
| Statistics Commission | 0 |
1 |
| Other current expenditure | 14
| 10 |
| Capital expenditure | 6 |
2 |
| Office of Government Commerce | 77
| 77 |
| Programme expenditure[2]
| 63 | 60 |
| Departmental Unallocated Provision | 2
| 4 |
| Total other costs | 169 |
171 |
| Total DEL | 222 | 221
|
14 April 2000
|
| |
2
Includes expenditure on Bank of England services in relation to
debt management and the Exchange Equalisation Account; costs of
UK coinage; pension payments in respect of Members of the European
Parliament and the Royal Household; and Civil List payments. Back
| 
