New NAO report lays out key capabilities for government to achieve smarter operational delivery

The NAO have published a new report highlighting four key capabilities to level up operational delivery in government. Poor service across the public sector costs UK organisations £7.3 billion every month as employees spend time handling complaints and fixing issues. 

The report was authored by Kate Caulkin, People and Operational Management Insights Director at the National Audit Office. Kate will be co-hosting the operational transformation discussion table at next week's Government Transformation Summit. 

Approximately 35% of total public spending, £450 billion, goes on the day-to-day running of public services and administration. This figure highlights the critical importance of effective public service delivery, where services meet people, for overall efficiency and lowering costs. 

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Chair of the Committee of Public Accounts commented that the committee "has reported time and time again on the impacts that poor service delivery has on the citizens that use them, as well as costing the taxpayer billions of pounds."

The report acknowledges the challenging operational environment currently facing government bodies, highlighting: 

• New and evolving service demand including responding to unforeseen circumstances and altering seasonal patterns 
• The fiscal challenge of improving productivity whilst reducing costs 
• Changes to the workforce and their operational capabilities needed to manage and upgrade services 
• Implementing the government's Plan for Change delivery agenda, meeting national priorities like Net Zero, economic growth, and public service transformation whilst improving government service outcomes

Clifton Brown commented: "despite challenging operational circumstances, there are examples of organisations innovating and making improvements to how services are delivered. However, it is clear that better cooperation across government and use of data can often improve what would otherwise be difficult services to deliver." 

The report then recommends four capabilities for delivering high quality services at the same or lower costs: 

1. Taking a whole-system approach by understanding different parts of the system, how processes connect and ultimately how this relates to service-user's needs whatever point they are at within the system. This should help manage complexity and uncertainty. 
2. Understanding and dealing with demand by designing services which understand what people want, when and delivering this right first time. 
3. Using information to improve by gaining knowledge of service performance and harnessing this information to decide what to change and how to do so. 
4. Approaching innovation and improvement systematically learning where problems occur and where improvement opportunities lie. 

As Clifton-Brown emphasises, "today’s NAO report highlights the lessons government organisations must learn for smarter delivery, including the importance of resilience to meet changes in demand resulting from unexpected shocks, which are becoming far more frequent." He added, "improving operational delivery is crucial to enhance services and ensure value for taxpayers." 

➡️ Engage with Kate's operational transformation discussion table by registering to attend the Government Transformation Summit on 24 June. Registration is free for all civil servants and local government executives.