Select Committee on Work and Pensions Fifth Report

3  Next steps

The BPRP and DWP IT projects: best practice

55. During our discussions with officials we covered not only the details of the Section 82 Report but also how wider issues, and how lessons learned from other IT projects were being incorporated into the ESA project.[57]

56. The circumstances of the cancellation of the BPRP project, at a substantial cost to the taxpayer, remain of concern to us. We were told by officials that they did not yet have figures on what proportion of the £138 million spent could be 'recycled', although it was expected to be more than 50%.[58] We intend to hold a public evidence session on this in due course.

What will happen next

FINAL REPORT

57. We hope that the DWP will incorporate our recommendations into its final Section 82 Report. We will issue a further Report when the final Section 82 Report is laid before the House of Commons. At that stage we will recommend whether the debate on the final Report should take place in a Delegated Legislation Committee or on the floor of the House. As we have already noted, the Government reply to the Procedure Committee Report noted that it would "consider any recommendations from the Work and Pensions Committee or representations from the Opposition in coming to a decision."[59]

DELEGATED LEGISLATION COMMITTEE

58. The Procedure Committee recommended that in future some members of the Committee which had considered the draft Section 82 Report should also serve on any Delegated Legislation Committee appointed to consider the Final Report. This did not happen in 2000. The Government noted the recommendation and stated that it "will try when possible to comply".[60]

59. If the final Section 82 Report is considered by a Delegated Legislation Committee we expect the Government to ensure its membership includes at least two members of the Work and Pensions Committee.

OUT-TURN REPORT

60. The Government has given an undertaking "to provide the House with an out-turn report setting out the actual expenditure incurred under the terms of Section 82 for each use of the power, either at the end of the specific period to which the power relates or following the termination of its application by the receipt of Royal Assent to the related Bill, whichever is earlier."[61]

61. We welcome the Government's promise to produce an out-turn report for the House on all uses of the Section 82 procedure. We recommend that this be accompanied by a memorandum to this Committee and the Public Accounts Committee with additional background information on how the money was spent, the extent to which the early expenditure was effective, the lessons that have been learned and how the procedure and process will be refined to take account of them.

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57   See, for example Qq 33-4, Q 47 and Qq 65-9. Back

58   Q 37 Back

59   Government reply to Procedure Committee Report, para 11 Back

60   Government reply to Procedure Committee Report, para 12 Back

61   HC Deb, 30 November 2000, col 850W Back

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Prepared 2 November 2006