We centrally hold some of the information requested.

In as far as data is centrally held, I refer the hon. Member to the Civil Service statistics, for the Cabinet Office, at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/civil-service-statistics

https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/datasets/civilservicestatistics

The Declaration on Government Reform (2021) stated: "There is however more we must do to attract a broader range of people to the privilege of public service... It should be natural for people with careers and skills built in business to serve in government for a period, and for those in public service to spend time in organisations which are not dependent on public money... We will develop new entry routes from industry, academia, the third sector and the wider public sector, with flexibility to suit those who want to build a career in government and those who want a shorter tour of duty."

The Evaluation Task Force (ETF) committed to publicly report on a series of output and outcome indicators in response to recommendations featured in the ‘Evaluating Government Spending’ NAO report in 2022 and the Public Accounts Committee’s recommendation for the ETF to establish quantifiable metrics on the scale and quality of evaluation across government. These indicators of progress can be viewed in the ETF evaluation strategy published in 2022 here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-evaluation-task-force-strategy-2022-2025

The indicators are not wholly controlled or ‘owned’ by the ETF. Driving progress towards the targets outlined in the ETF strategy are dependent on cross-government partners working together to build an improved evaluation ecosystem which creates more and higher quality evaluation in government.

The PQ references two indicators:

1.4 Proportion of Evaluation Accelerator Fund projects on track (RAG rated 'Green')

1.6 Proportion of ETF priority projects with robust evaluation plans (cumulative)

The ETF Output and Outcome Indicators (March 2024) report has also published its Technical Annex alongside the main report. This details the number of projects rated Red, Amber and Green across these portfolios and provides a detailed explanation of how these ratings were assessed. This is summarised in the background section below.

Departments and What Works Centres who lead either EAF or priority projects understand they are part of the ETF’s broader portfolio of work and that although regular indicators of evaluation progress in government are published, there have been no plans to publish the details of specific projects as part of the reporting.

The ETF has established good working relationships with departments who (particularly within the context of EAF and priority projects) are delivering complex evaluations in high profile policy areas. The departments openly share their work with the ETF and this transparency has enabled the ETF to provide high quality advice and support to teams. Using the information provided to the ETF to specifically publicly name projects, separately from other projects, risks damaging this important working relationship.

The ETF instead has been working to ensure transparency on a larger more sustainable scale, for all projects not just ETF priority areas. The Cabinet Office and the ETF will soon be publicly launching the Government Evaluation Registry. The Registry will bring together all planned, live and completed evaluations from Government Departments in a single accessible location, providing an invaluable tool for understanding “what works” in Government. Due to the importance of transparency and improving evaluation across Departments, the Government has decided to make use of the Registry mandatory. As such, Departments and What Works Centres responsible for EAF funded and priority projects will publish plans and findings on the Registry in due course. This will then be available to the public, along with the plans and reports for the rest of the department’s portfolio.

The Evaluation Task Force (ETF) committed to publicly report on a series of output and outcome indicators in response to recommendations featured in the ‘Evaluating Government Spending’ NAO report in 2022 and the Public Accounts Committee’s recommendation for the ETF to establish quantifiable metrics on the scale and quality of evaluation across government. The indicators are not wholly controlled or ‘owned’ by the ETF. Driving progress towards the targets outlined in the ETF strategy are dependent on cross-government partners working together to build an improved evaluation ecosystem which creates more and higher quality evaluation in government.

All information related to the proportion of projects rated Red, Amber, Green across Evaluation Accelerator Fund and ETF priority projects are included in the Technical Annex published alongside the main output and outcome indicator report. This can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evaluation-task-force-output-and-outcome-indicators-march-2024

For completeness, the table below outlines the number and proportion of projects that were rated Red, Amber, Green across both indicators related to this PQ. Please note these figures have been recently updated and are now included on the ETF website.

On 2 October, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a value for money audit of all EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) spending in the Civil Service.

The audit will dovetail with the public sector productivity review, aiming at delivering a leaner, more efficient government. The audit forms part of our drive to improve productivity across the public sector by driving down waste and improving performance.

The findings and actions of the audit will be announced in due course.