PAC: Govt does not know how much many of its services cost – how can it address this?
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will hold the second of two evidence sessions examining Government services: Identifying costs and generating incomeat 3.30pm on Monday 20 October.
Meeting details
Central government spent an estimated £450bn in day-to-day running costs of services in 2024-25. While departments generally have a good understanding of their total costs, the National Audit Office has found that many do not know the cost of individual activities such as handling applications, running contact centres, or managing back-office checks.
Government recently tried to pin down more granular information on service costs as part of its Top 75 government services programme, but found it too difficult because systems are not set up to collect information at this level of detail.
Following on from a session in which the Committee heard from service providers and Treasury officials on the setting of fees and charges, MPs will seek to establish how government can address the lack of service cost information in departments, as a foundation for improving productivity and the affordability of public services.