Over the last few months we have noted an increased focus from the UK Government and wider groups on Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs), public bodies that deliver services for government across a wide range of sectors.

The increase in attention stems from the Governments’ focus on improving the effectiveness and efficiency of public service delivery, as set out for example in the speech given by The Rt Hon Michael Gove MP in July 2020. This was shortly followed by a prospectus for a future civil service that considered how public service delivery might tackle some of the big issues we face.

While this focus is on the civil service as a whole, a significant amount of work is going into considering how to get the best out of ALBs as they work with government to deliver their own specific outcomes. Lord Agnew, Minister of State at the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury, spoke to ACE and PCF members in September 2020. Lord Agnew asked us to reflect on the Public Appointments Process and Public Body Governance and Accountability, highlighting these as two key areas for consideration over the next few years.

We are starting to see some of the developments in this area. Over the last few months alone we have been asked by the Cabinet Office to send through our reflections on a range of activity from the tailored review process, to proposed principles for Non-Executive Directors of ALBs, to how ALBs propose to run board meetings when Government restrictions are eventually lifted.

Work is ongoing to update Cabinet Office guidance and frameworks relating to public bodies. In the meantime they have set up a nascent Non-Executive area of the website where you can find the finalised Non-Executive principles.  

There is a wider interest in Arm’s Length Bodies and how they are run. The National Audit Office (NAO) are currently running a study on Government’s delivery through ALBs. This study will focus on how central government oversees and advises on ALB operations and their relationship with government departments. The study will also explore the different delivery models used by government. ACE and PCF hope to work with the NAO as they finalise their recommendations.