Annex B
The Prime Minister's Delivery Unit
To strengthen the capacity of Whitehall to deliver
the Government's key objectives the Prime Minister has established
a Delivery Unit based in the Cabinet Office. The new unit reports
to the Prime Minister and is under the day-to-day supervision
of the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Lord Macdonald. It is
headed by the Prime Minister's Chief Adviser on Delivery, Professor
Michael Barber, who is based in No. 10 Downing Street.
The role of the Unit is to ensure that the Government
achieves its delivery priorities during this Parliament across
the key areas of public service: health, education, crime, asylum
and transport. The Unit's work will be carried out by a team of
staff with practical experience of delivery, drawn from the public
and private sectors.
The Delivery Unit will:
— report regularly to the Prime Minister
on progress towards achievement of these priorities—particularly
successes and failures—and thus establish the agenda for
his regular stocktake meetings with the Ministers concerned;
— help in holding the public service
departments to account through the established PSX monitoring
process to make sure that they meet their agreed PSA targets;
— ensure that, within departmental
spending limits set in the spending review, problems of delivery
are solved as rapidly as possible when they emerge, undertaking
specific projects as necessary;
— sustain the Government's focus on
the key objectives over time.
The Office of Public Service Reform (PSR)
The Government is committed to creating a high
standard, customer focused public services sector which delivers
effectively to all stakeholders. In a recent speech the Prime
Minister set out his key principles for public service reform:
— The setting of a framework of national
priorities and a system of accountability;
— Within that framework to devolve
power to frontline professionals and local leaders to innovate
and develop services;
— Recognition of the work of frontline
staff including better conditions of service and more flexible
rewards;
— More choice for service users and
alternative services where provision is below minimum standards.
The Office of Public Services Reform, also in
the Cabinet Office, advises the Prime Minister on how the Government
can take forward its commitment to radical reform of the Civil
Service and public services. It will consider how to enhance competence
and capacity within the public services and will help implement
frameworks for national standards and local innovation, ensuring
intervention from the centre only when justified. The OPSR reports
to the Prime Minister through the Secretary to the Cabinet.
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