Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what approval process is currently in place for the outsourcing of civil service training to take place prior to the re-establishment of the School of Government in 2028; what alternative delivery mechanisms have been explored; what competitive tendering has been undertaken; what outcomes are expected from such training, including in terms of project management, artificial intelligence capability, and working with devolved civil service hubs; and who has been employed to undertake a detailed evaluation of the delivery of this training.

The Civil Service values its people, invests in their growth, and is serious about building the capability to meet the challenges of the future. This autumn, the National School of Government and Public Services will formally open its doors to civil servants. The learning the school provides will boost public sector productivity and accelerate the pace of progress towards delivering the excellent, digitally-enabled public services to be expected from a modern state.

The Cabinet Office’s Investment Committee decision to proceed with direct awards instead of competitive tendering was driven by the need to ensure short-term service continuity. The direct awards give short-term contracts to the incumbent suppliers (EY and KPMG) and allow the Civil Service to continue to access quality assured, value for money training services in the period up to April 2028.

The training provided through these contracts is designed to help modernise the Civil Service and to deliver the Government’s policy platform, ensuring equitable access for regional civil service hubs. The strategic priorities for learning currently include digital, data and innovation (including AI) and leadership and management. Better leadership and management skills are essential to improve performance and increase productivity, and to lead the changes that come with digital transformation.

We maintain rigorous oversight of service efficacy through quarterly reviews of performance data, including service level agreements, learner feedback, and operational metrics, collected by the Cabinet Office from our incumbent suppliers and shared across the Civil Service to ensure training consistently meets our requirements.