Introduction
In July 2021 the UK Government introduced a new system of outcome delivery plans (ODPs), designed to improve its focus on the delivery of key national priorities. This briefing examines this initial collection of ODPs, and holds it up to the findings of previous research on good practice—especially relating to the environment and wellbeing (sustainable prosperity) agenda.
Key findings
- The pursuit of economic (GDP) growth is embedded at the heart of the ODP regime overall. There is no acknowledgement that this may be unsustainable in itself or conflict with other objectives.
The emphasis in these ODPs on cross-cutting priorities is positive, but questions remain about how this will work in practice. - There is evidence of environmental and wellbeing objectives being widely reflected in departmental programmes, though this falls far short of adding up to a coherent vision.
Both objectives and performance metrics are often framed too broadly to be effective as tools pf either management or accountability. - The presentation of performance metrics often appears to be inadequate to enable Parliament and the public to gauge the Government’s progress towards its promised outcomes.
Plans are still inwardly-focused, although there are interesting signs of new thought about citizen experience and engagement. - There is significant room for improvement, but these are early days for ODPs, and there are some very promising features to build on.
Recommendations
To avoid wider priorities being undermined by a pursuit of unsustainable growth
1. HM Treasury should consult on the design of a metric of sustainable wellbeing to replace GDP growth as one of its key performance measures.
2. The Cabinet Office and HM Treasury should work towards developing ODPs which aim to calculate the net effects of conflicting policies on different priorities (for example, reflecting the negative impacts of road-building investment on air quality and climate change objectives).
To increase focus on the highest priorities, including the UK’s carbon reduction commitments
3. For the next annual iteration of ODPs in 2022, the Cabinet Office should set out a high-level outcome delivery plan for HM Government overall, identifying a short list of the Government’s highest overarching priorities with related performance metrics. This should include a clear presentation of the UK’s carbon budgets and progress towards net zero.
To increase transparency and effectiveness of scrutiny
4. The Cabinet Office should provide parliamentary committees with access to the full plans underlying the published set of ODPs, as required. Further, it should develop interactive versions of ODPs that allow external users to explore the full range of a department’s published statistics.
To enhance an overall focus on sustainable prosperity
5. The Cabinet Office, working together with Defra and BEIS, should develop one overall sustainability dashboard, pulling together all of the Government’s most important targets and commitments on the environmental and wellbeing policy agendas.
To improve engagement and insight into what citizens want from policy, and what parliamentarians want from ODPs
6. The Cabinet Office should consult select committees (for example, via the Liaison Committee) on the content and design of the Government’s ODPs, and strive to revise them in time for next year’s iteration of plans. The Cabinet Office and HM Treasury should publish more of the research the Government has developed on what actually delivers the outcomes citizens want, and demonstrate how it has engaged with the public to generate this knowledge.
To improve the meaningfulness of performance metrics, and help observers tell, not only if progress is being made, but if sufficient progress is being made, sufficiently quickly
7. The Cabinet Office should ensure that all ODPs present performance metrics together with the targets for which the department is aiming, along with the interim milestones and pathways required to get there.
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The briefing is available for download in pdf.