Central Government
With national debt reduction as a key priority for Government,
departments are experiencing a need for better financial
discipline, the closure/curtailment of specific policy projects and
programmes and a reduction in on-going operational costs. This
challenging context is combined with increasing demand for certain
public services, as well as a policy emphasis on reducing the role
of the state, be it by creating an environment where the voluntary
sector delivers certain services, or delegating central regulatory
and financial responsibilities to a regional level.
Internal governance
In this environment, strengthening governance, increasing risk
management and control measures, and putting tighter expenditure
controls in place to tackle wasteful expenditure and fraud are
significant initiatives. We are working closely with several
central government departments and NDPBs advising on best practice
in
governance, risk management and control arrangements, to ensure
that it is relevant and proportional to the needs of the
organisation
Programme management
The Cabinet Office's is scrutinising major policy and delivery
programmes. It is either intervening directly or expecting
departments to seek their own assurance that these programmes are
well funded, that cost efficiencies have been realised and that
they have realistic prospects to be successfully delivered. We have
specialist staff who understand the HM Treasury’s 5 stage business
case model and have depth of experience in advising and assessing
projects and programmes from initiation to completion.
Merger & consolidation
The abolition or amalgamation of NDPBs, with their roles being
absorbed within mainstream Whitehall departments necessitates a
significant understanding of the financial and broader standing of
each of the organisations to provide a sound platform for them to
be dissolved or merged. We can assist by drawing on our specialist
experience of undertaking due diligence and related work in a
public sector setting. This has included advisory work on merger
and acquisition within the NHS and NHS foundation trusts, OSEL
integration work drawing on multi-disciplinary team from the
healthcare advisory team, Governement Infrastructure and Advisory,
audit and performance improvement practices.
Cost reduction
Across Whitehall departments there is a focus on cost reductions
and restructuring initiatives to improve value. This includes
changes in organisational and management structures that are
expected to result in significant staffing reductions. We draw on
our experience of helping organisations remove costs from their
support services and front-of-house services and offer strategic,
operational, commercial and financial services to public entities
across their full business lifecycle.