[Withdrawn] Cabinet Office single departmental plan - December 2017
Updated 27 June 2019
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-single-departmental-plan/cabinet-office-single-departmental-plan
This publication was withdrawn on 23 May 2018
It has been replaced by a new version
Our single departmental plan sets out our objectives and how we will achieve them.
Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Chief Executive of the Civil Service and Permanent Secretary for the Cabinet Office
We support the Prime Minister and ensure the effective running of government. We are also the corporate headquarters for Government in partnership with HM Treasury, and we take the lead in certain critical policy areas.
Our objectives
We will:
- Maintain the integrity of the union, co-ordinate security of the realm and sustain a flourishing democracy
- Support the design and implementation of the HM Government’s policies and the Prime Minister’s priorities
- Ensure the delivery of the finest public services by attracting and developing the best public servants and improving the efficiency of Government
1. Maintain the integrity of the union, co-ordinate security of the realm and sustain a flourishing democracy
Lead ministers
The Rt Hon David Lidington MP, Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Chloe Smith MP, Minister for the Constitution
Lead officials
Lucy Smith, Director General of UK Governance
Mark Sedwill, National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister
Charles Farr, Chairman of the joint Intelligence Committee and Professional Head of Intelligence Analysis
1.1 Deliver a stable constitutional settlement that represents a fair deal for every part of our United Kingdom
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Manage inter-governmental relations with the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive |
| Support implementation of the Scotland Act and Wales Act |
| Improve the capability of the Civil Service to understand devolution and sustain and strengthen the Union |
1.2 Coordinate, deliver and implement the National Security Strategy and respond to national security threats at home and abroad
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Implement the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review |
| Implement the National Cyber Security Programme |
| Provide all source assessments in support of the National Security Strategy, including for the National Security Council |
1.3 Coordinate and develop international policy across Government
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Successfully deliver the Commonwealth Summit in 2018 |
| Deliver the UK’s commitments from the London Anti-Corruption summit |
| To support the development and execution of the Government’s strategy for an orderly withdrawal from, and establishment of a new partnership with, the European Union |
1.4 Help make Parliament more effective and reform the electoral process
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Continue to tackle electoral fraud |
| Ensure British citizens who have lived abroad for more than 15 years are able to vote in the next scheduled parliamentary general election |
Our performance
UK’s soft power rating
| Year | UK soft power rating |
| 2017 | 75.72 |
| 2016 | 75.97 |
| 2015 | 75.61 |
Source : Portland’s Global ranking of Soft Power 2016
Release schedule: annual
2. Support the design and implementation of HM Government’s policies and the Prime Minister’s priorities
Lead ministers
The Rt Hon David Lidington MP, Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Oliver Dowden CBE MP, Minister for Implementation
Lead officials
Shona Dunn, Director General of the Economic and Domestic Affairs Secretariat
James Quinault, Director, Implementation Unit
2.1 Drive policy innovation across Government
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Deliver a range of innovative projects that have a demonstrable impact both on policy outcomes and the capability of civil servants in new policy-making methods |
| Support departments to ensure their own policy development reflects the latest policy making techniques and incorporate evidence from horizon scanning |
2.2 Deliver the Government’s legislative agenda
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Plan and draft the Government’s legislative programme |
| Facilitate the passage of Bills and secondary legislation through both Houses of Parliament |
2.3 Support the effective operation of Cabinet and Cabinet Committees
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Support the smooth operation of Cabinet, Cabinet Committees and Implementation Task Forces |
| Support departments to secure collective agreement to policies |
2.4 Support the implementation of the Government’s priorities
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Track the delivery of the Prime Minister’s priority policies and the Government’s wider programme, intervening where delivery or operational performance is at risk |
| Strengthen implementation capability across the Civil Service |
2.5 Drive reform through reviews commissioned by the Prime Minister
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Through the Race Disparity Audit, launch and keep updated a website featuring Government data about ethnic disparities - differences in treatment and outcome affecting people of different ethnicities - and co-ordinate the Government’s response to the key disparities identified |
| Prepare for publication of a Green Paper outlining proposals to improve care and support for older people and tackle the challenge of an ageing population |
3. Ensure the delivery of the finest public services by attracting and developing the best public servants and improving the efficiency of Government
Lead ministers
The Rt Hon David Lidington MP, Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Chloe Smith MP, Minister for the Constitution
Oliver Dowden CBE MP, Minister for Implementation
Lead officials
John Manzoni, Chief Executive of the Civil Service and Permanent Secretary for the Cabinet Office
Kevin Cunnington, Director General of the Government Digital Service
Alex Aiken, Executive Director for Government Communications
Lesley-Ann Nash, Director for Public Bodies
Rupert McNeil, Chief People Officer
Tracey Waltho, Director General of the Civil Service
Mike Parsons, Director General of Government Property
Tony Meggs, Chief Executive, Infrastructure and Projects Authority
Gareth Rhys Williams, Government Chief Commercial Officer
Lesley Hume, Executive Director, Fraud Error & Debt
3.1 Digital service provision and Government technology
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Government services are expected to be “digital by default”, being accessible online with assisted digital support available |
| Government having a better understanding of its users’ needs from “Government as a Platform” tools and guidance, enabling it to design and deliver great service and savings |
| Build a pipeline of talent and capability, and identify the top Digital, Data and Technology job roles across Government and secure high quality hires into them |
| Establish a GovTech Catalyst team at the heart of Government to oversee a new £20 million fund to help tech firms deliver innovative fixes to public sector challenges |
3.2 Ensure Government continues to work in an open and transparent way
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Support the publication of transparency data across Government |
| Maintain our position as a world leader on open data |
| Consult on and publish a revised code of practice for Freedom of Information requests |
| Establish a new Geospatial Commission to maximise the value of all UK Government data linked to location, and to create jobs and growth in a modern economy |
3.3 Oversee communications for the Government
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Deliver the 2017/18 Government Communication Plan |
| Implement the new model for procuring public sector communications across the Government Communications Service and UK creative industries |
| Deliver the Prime Minister’s communication priorities |
3.4 Create an attractive, diverse and Brilliant Civil Service
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Attract a more diverse pool of talent and implement a more streamlined and transparent recruitment process that improves the candidate experience. This includes overhauling the competency based approach in recruitment and promotion, and launching a new Civil Service career website |
| Increase applications from high-quality, board-ready diverse candidates to support the Government’s aim that, over the course of the Parliament, more new public appointments are filled by women, black and minority ethnic and disabled staff. This will make the Civil Service more representative of modern society |
| Build momentum across government to realise the vision for a Brilliant Civil Service |
| Develop a process for departments to collect a key dataset on socioeconomic backgrounds on their whole workforce |
3.5 Create an efficient and effective Government estate
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Revise the Government Estates Strategy for publication in Spring 2018 to set out an ambitious plan for further improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the Government’s estate, including hubs and a redistribution of public servants |
| Identify surplus and underutilised land and property to deliver capital receipts and free up land for at least 160,000 homes |
| Prepare for the launch of the Government Property Agency in April 2018 and secure agreement to the progressive transfer of non-specialist assets from Government departments |
| Strengthen the capacity and capability of the property profession across Government |
3.6 Improve the way Government delivers infrastructure and Major Projects
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Lead a programme of work to transform infrastructure performance, working with industry and Government departments to improve the productivity of infrastructure |
| Launch the Project Delivery Capability Framework to support the capability development of project delivery professionals in government |
| Develop and implement Project Delivery Standards across government |
| Publish 2017 National Infrastructure and Construction Pipeline |
3.7 Increase Civil Service commercial capability
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Set out a future shared services strategy and roadmap for Government that takes into account existing contractual arrangements, future needs, potential savings to be achieved and suitable technical solutions for shared services |
| Build the capability of the Government Commercial Function; centrally recruiting, training and integrating accredited departmental specialists in a CO sponsored central employer (GCO), and working with Arms Length Bodies to develop and accredit their commercial teams |
| Build our strategic relationship with Government’s biggest suppliers; managing the largest and most pervasive relationships centrally and rolling out a consistent methodology for departments to use with locally important vendors |
| Build our ability to derive value from our contracts; identify, train and accredit the departmental managers responsible for Government contracts |
3.8 Reform, improve and ensure accountability of public bodies
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Strengthen intervention to deliver a smaller, simplified and coherent public body landscape by March 2020 |
| Progress plans to move significant numbers of public servants out of London and the south-east to cities around the UK |
| Embed grant standards across Government to ensure effective management of grant funding, and launch a central Government counter-fraud profession |
| Publish a refreshed code of practice on corporate governance |
Our performance
UK ranking on Open Data Barometer
| Year | Global world ranking | Overall score (out of 100) |
| 2016 | 1 | 100 |
| 2015 | 1 | 100 |
Source: Open Data Barometer
Civil Service People Survey
| Year | Employee engagement index (%) |
| 2017 | 61 |
| 2016 | 59 |
| 2015 | 58 |
Source: Civil Service People Survey: 2017 results
Release schedule: annual
Our finances
Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) - £457.9 million
Resource DEL (including depreciation) - £353.5 million
Capital DEL - £97 million
Annually Managed Expenditure - £5 million
Control totals included in this document are in line with the latest voted by Parliament in the Main Supply Estimates 2017-18
Source: Main Supply Estimates 2017-18