Conclusions and recommendations
1. We
believe that it will be extremely important for the Department
to keep the state of the People's Network under review to ensure
that the impressive performance reported in 2002-03 does not fall
off over time as the "turbo charge" effect of a specific
PSA target is lost. (Paragraph 17)
2. We welcome the
performance of the Department in relation to the establishment
of Creative Partnerships. We hope that the scheme continues to
grow with consistent vigour. The target seems to have been met,
and exceeded, with considerable ease well ahead of the deadline.
This suggests there may be a need for the Department to take care
to set targets which are challenging in order to stimulate peak
performance. (Paragraph 20)
3. The Secretary of
State advances an attractive argument but we remain to be convinced—perhaps
by an independent audit—that the loss of school and community
playing fields, since 1997, has been outweighed by improved sporting
facilities provided as part of subsequent development. The Government
should, however, strongly encourage local authorities to build
a presumption for this to occur into development plans. (Paragraph
26)
4. We accept that
a more focused PSA target, for the promotion of sport and physical
activity amongst children, was required. We expect that the new
target, and the associated initiatives and investment to which
the Department refers, will stimulate increased participation
in sport by young people which we believe is vital for their health
and well-being. (Paragraph 27)
5. We recommend that
the Department consider what further information (including ethnicity,
socio-economic group, home town, etc.) might be collected about
the children visiting the museums so that a closer analysis of
trends can be carried out and any areas of weakness within the
target identified and properly tackled. For this to be accomplished
universally and consistently the Department would have to supply
the necessary resources. (Paragraph 30)
6. We welcome this
provision—relating to British Film—within the Communications
Act and hope that the Department, in concert with Ofcom and the
broadcasters, will act to ensure that the expectations of real
benefits for British film production that have been raised are
actually realised. (Paragraph 44)
7. We note the reference,
in the Chancellor's Pre-Budget Report Statement on 10 December
2003, that the Treasury "will also consider the right incentives
to support one of our great British creative industries: British
Film"….We look forward to the implementation , in the
forthcoming Budget Statement, of an extension or evolution of
the Section 48 tax break for smaller (i.e. British) film productions
in order to boost an important sector within the DCMS' remit which
attracts a significant amount of inward investment to the UK.
It would be frustrating if potentially unintended consequences
of accounting rule changes were to damage film production in the
UK before the policy vacuum created by the imminent sunset of
Section 48 can be tackled. (Paragraph 47)
8. The Department
does not mention in the Report, but has told the Committee, that
external consultancy services have been used by DCMS. Spending
on these services was £358,000 in 2001-02, £595,000
in 2002-03, and is expected to be £540,000 in 2003-04 and
£440,000 and £340,000 in the following two years respectively.
We were concerned by the amount of money that has been, and will
be, spent on Departmental administration and external consultants
without it being clearly and transparently spelt out in the Annual
Report. (Paragraph 51)
9. We believe that
effective management of the Department's sponsored bodies is crucial
to the overall success of DCMS in implementing its policies and
meeting its PSA targets in the future. (Paragraph 54)
10. We were pleased
to hear that a DCMS sustainable development strategy would be
published in January 2004 and delighted to see it on 4 February.
We were encouraged that the Department has nominated Estelle Morris
as its Green Minister and has appointed a director at board level
to champion environmental issues. (Paragraph 55)
11. We recommend that
the Department provides more detailed supporting evidence within
their annual report in future years (or at least point the reader
to data that is available elsewhere) to give clear analysis of
performance and make possible the effective scrutiny of targets
without the need to request additional information. (Paragraph
58)
12. The Committee
recommend that increased care and attention is paid to the process
of setting targets so that the Department does not lose the confidence
of stakeholders or interested parties in the reporting of its
achievements. (Paragraph 59)
13. We recommend that
the Department, in future, commissions research into and only
set targets where they can and do show solid reasoning for doing
so using evidence that establishes the target as realistic. (Paragraph
60)
14. Overall, in relation
to target setting, we recommend that work with the Treasury continues
so that the targets set for 2003-06 have accurate baselines and
can properly be measured. We also hope that the process of target
setting continues to evolve and improve so that targets do in
fact 'give turbo charge and focus' to the work of the Department.
(Paragraph 61)
15. Judging by the
confidence of the Secretary of State, we expect that the Department
will meet this important target for promoting sport amongst young
people and we recommend close monitoring of progress over the
next three years as success in this area is of very great importance
to health and well-being of the nation's children. (Paragraph
68)
16. With regard to
the existing PSA target for tourism, we recommend that the Department
looks again, especially at the term "productivity" within
it, to establish exactly how this will be measured and what baseline
will be used. (Paragraph 74)
17. We recommend that
the Secretary of State keeps a close eye on the reform of a number
of large sponsored bodies that is being carried out now or in
the near future and make sure that best practice is disseminated.
(Paragraph 75)
18. The staging of
the largest international event of any kind—the Olympics—has
the potential to yield great benefits to London and the UK, but
leadership, careful planning and good management are essential
from the outset. The Secretary of State must be ready to ensure
that this is undertaken, leading and coordinating across all Government
departments and in efficient and effective partnership with the
GLA, LDA, BOA, a national organising committee and other stakeholders.
(Paragraph 81)
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