Conclusions and recommendations
Introduction
1. We
are grateful to Ministers and officials for their willingness
to make themselves available throughout the 2005-06 Session. (Paragraph
5)
The Department and the Committee
2. We
note with some concern that senior departmental officials sometimes
gave the appearance of being under-prepared for detailed scrutiny.
We understand that they intended to discuss this at their post-meeting
debriefing session and look forward to seeing what impact that
discussion has on future evidence sessions. (Paragraph 6)
3. We welcome the
Departments' active response to our criticisms regarding the clarity
and usefulness of its explanatory memorandum on the Winter Supplementary
Estimates, although it is unacceptable that this occurred only
after repeated requests for clearer information. We are grateful
for the Secretary of State's personal commitment to ensure that
Parliament is kept as fully informed as possible. We expect to
see more suitable, informative and comprehensible explanatory
memoranda for all future Estimates, and we shall return to this
matter should they prove unsatisfactory. (Paragraph 9)
4. We are concerned
that the Department for a time gave, perhaps inadvertently, the
impression that it was unwilling to answer parliamentary questions
relating to its predecessor, the former Office of the Deputy Prime
Minister. We are pleased that the Secretary of State moved immediately
to issue new guidance when we drew the issue to her attention.
(Paragraph 13)
Format and quality of the Annual Report
5. We
are concerned that the Department missed its deadline for Annual
Report publication by more than two months. We are unconvinced
that DCLG's creation on 8 May 2006 should significantly have affected
a document intended for publication only four days later. We note
the Permanent Secretary's intention to publish the 2007 Report
on time and will expect a full explanation if that is not achieved.
(Paragraph 14)
6. We are pleased
to note that the Department has taken significant steps to make
its Annual Report clearer and more accessible to the general reader,
including the provision of a useful new annex allowing comparison
between high-level goals and strategic priorities. We recommend
that the Department continue to develop new means of clarifying
the connections between its PSA targets and the resources allocated
to their achievement. (Paragraph 16)
7. We are disappointed,
following our criticism of the accuracy of the Department's 2005
Annual Report, by the considerable number of minor errors allowed
to appear in the 2006 document, several of which render statistical
information inaccurate or out of date. We are unclear about what
was done to fulfil the Department's 2005 promise to take action.
The appearance of the final document is, bluntly, sub-standard.
We strongly recommend that the Department take active steps to
ensure careful proof-checking, particularly of financial tables
and charts. The failure to make significant improvements in this
regard implies a lack of commitment on the part of the Department
towards the duty of explaining its activities and achievements
to Parliament and the public. (Paragraph 18)
Delivery
8. The
DCLG has undergone a substantial transformation programme since
publication of the Annual Report. We shall, in the course of our
programme of inquiries into departmental policies, watch with
interest the impact that this has on the Department's roles, responsibilities
and achievements. We expect next year's Annual Report to include
at least a preliminary analysis of the impact these changes have
had on the Department's ability to deliver. (Paragraph 20)
9. The DCLG's role
as lead Department in several areas of Government policy requires
it to set clear strategic goals of its own and to arrange suitable
mechanisms to persuade other Departments and non-departmental
public bodies across Government of the vision behind those goals
and the actions required of them if shared targets are to be reached.
Clear arrangements are also required to facilitate the most accurate
possible measurement of shared goals, particularly when measurement
relies on data collected by other Departments with subtly different
policy targets. We would like to see the nature of these agreements
and details of the co-operative work undertaken spelled out in
future Annual Reports. (Paragraph 26)
Staffing issues
10. We
recognise the efforts made in response to our recommendation that
the Department should take further steps to eradicate bullying,
harassment or discrimination of staff. We note that all senior
staff are expected to participate in "dignity and respect"
courses and that action is expected to be taken against any who
do not. We expect to receive details of feedback from less senior
staff on the impact of these programmes through the quarterly
staff surveys to be conducted throughout 2007. (Paragraph 30)
11. We welcome the
efforts of senior staff in the Department to make themselves more
visible and to open two-way channels of communication with staff,
including those beyond the London headquarters. We will watch
with interest staff survey results relating to the efforts made
towards improved communication and visibility. (Paragraph 32)
Future policy
12. We
welcome the Secretary of State's desire to establish the DCLG
as a lead Department in governmental climate change policy.
(Paragraph 40)
13. We note the Secretary
of State's argument that home condition reports could not be included
as mandatory in Home Information Packs when they are launched
in June 2007 because not enough mortgage lenders would have automated
valuation systems in place. We note also her view that the packs
are ultimately likely to include home condition reports as a result
of the changing housebuying market. (Paragraph 44)
14. We endorse the
Secretary of State's view that emergency service co-response schemes
can save lives and should be encouraged. We urge the Government
to be active in negotiating the creation and continued success
of such schemes. We reiterate our earlier recommendation that
the Government introduce a national co-response protocol, including
guidance on payment for the service. (Paragraph 47)
15. The DCLG's new
responsibilities for communities, race, faith and equalities pose
substantial new challenges to the Department. In particular, the
Department needs to establish a leading role across government
on the new gender equality duty. It also needs to establish a
clear working relationship with the Commission for Equality and
Human Rights. We welcome its appointment of the independent Commission
on Integration and Cohesion and look forward to seeing how it
responds to that Commission's interim and final reports later
this year. (Paragraph 53)
| 
