By Vivienne Russell
Whitehall is still not as innovative as it could be when it comes to the design of public services, according to government auditors.
Whitehall is still not as innovative as it could be when it comes to the design of public services, according to government auditors.The National Audit Office said that some aspects had improved since it last reported on the issue in 2006. But it added that more could be done to encourage ideas from frontline staff and service users.
NAO head Tim Burr said: ‘Despite the large sums of money being invested in encouraging innovation, central government isn’t making the most of the opportunities to improve the delivery of public services.
‘Innovation… is vital and government must be sure that it encourages staff to contribute.’
The March 26 report found that public servants were reluctant to put forward potentially innovative ideas where they did not appreciate they related to the goals of the organisation. The NAO also identified risk-averse attitudes within departments, and found that a concentration on targets, budgets and high-profile national initiatives that acted as barriers.
The NAO estimated Whitehall departments had allocated at least £3bn in the form of innovation budgets but there were no measures in place to assess the impact of this expenditure.
Public Accounts Committee chair Edward Leigh said: ‘The need to come up with innovative ways of delivering public services with fewer resources is all the sharper in the worsening economic situation. But it is clear from the NAO report released today that central government departments must work much harder to encourage their staff to break away from the “we do it this way because that’s that way we’ve always done it” mindset.’
