Evaluation in Government Policy-making
Debate between Baroness Twycross and Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court
Baroness Twycross (Lab)
My noble friend makes a really interesting point. Had the previous Government evaluated the potential benefit of the scheme, they would have found that the policy they pursued damaged our energy security and led to higher bills for both consumers and businesses.
Lord Macpherson of Earl’s Court (CB)
My Lords, does the Minister agree that a budget for evaluation should be built into new programme settlements from the beginning, as happened with the New Deal in 1997? It is a practice which, sadly, has been rarely followed since then.
Baroness Twycross (Lab)
It feels entirely appropriate that evaluation should be built into any new policy area, and the intention is for this to happen. When the Evaluation Task Force was created, an evaluation academy was also set up, which addresses the skills gap that was perceived to be present within the Civil Service, so there is a training scheme whereby more than 2,000 civil servants have been trained in their respective departments. One would hope that no major project would be launched without evaluation being built in from the start.
Ministerial Code: Policy Announcements
Debate between Baroness Twycross and Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court(3 weeks, 1 day ago)
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Baroness Twycross (Lab)
I agree with the noble Lord on markets and I am sure that, in the other place, previous Chancellors from previous Governments might feel that they would have been better placed had this happened. We need to get the balance right. We are very clear that we have an obligation to Parliament. The point about the markets and having a bit of common sense has considerable merit.
Lord Macpherson of Earl’s Court (CB)
My Lords, back in March 2013, the Budget was comprehensively leaked and the then Chancellor, George Osborne, commissioned me to do a review into the pre-release of Budget information. I published a report in July 2013 and recommended a ban on the pre-release of the core of the Budget. The Government accepted my recommendations. Do the current Government still stick to the policy agreed at that time?
Baroness Twycross (Lab)
We do. To anybody who watched that Budget and who had not been involved in its development and thought that they knew every single detail that was announced in the Chancellor’s speech, I would question whether they were watching the same speech as I was.