Departmental Strategic Objectives

On 9th October 2007, the Government published the results of the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007 (CSR 2007), including a new set of cross-government priorities or Public Service Agreements (PSAs).  More details on BERR’s PSAs can be found using the link shown below: 

Comprehensive Spending Review - Public Service Agreements

The new framework also requires departments to develop a set of Departmental Strategic Objectives (DSOs).  The DSOs set out a picture of what the department as a whole aims to achieve over the next three years and provides an overarching framework for performance management and progress reporting.  The DSOs are no less important than PSAs and, like the PSAs, the DSOs will last for the period of the CSR until 2011.

BERR will have 7 DSOs, each underpinned by a number of performance indicators that will be used to assess progress towards delivering these objectives.  The following table lists BERR’s DSOs together with a summary of the performance indicators.

DSO 1: Promote the creation and growth of business and a strong enterprise economy across all regions

  1. Stakeholder perceptions of BERR’s understanding of, influence over and performance in improving the business and enterprise environment
  2. Delivery of RDA outcomes taken from new sponsorship framework
  3. RDA organisational capability – to be drawn from Independent Performance Assessment (IPA) or successor
  4. Delivery of publicly-funded business support simplification
  5. Delivery of UKTI’s CSR07 performance management framework

DSO 2: Ensure that all Government Departments and agencies deliver better regulation for the private, public and third sectors

  1. Administrative burdens reduction across 19 government departments, consisting of a 25% reduction for the majority of departments by 2010. Includes BERR target to deliver 25% reduction in measured admin burdens by 2010
  2. Proportion of businesses (and voluntary sector organisations) who believe that "most regulation is fair and proportionate" in five policy areas – employment law, tax law, health and safety, planning law and company law
  3. Flow of regulation: total benefit/cost ratio of regulations coming forward over time
  4. Performance of local authority regulatory services as measured by the national indicator (to be agreed in 2008)
  5. Overall performance in the World Bank "Doing business" survey and OECD surveys of the policy environment
  6. Proportion of bureaucracy which the public sector front line believes to be unnecessary.
  7. Reduction in data stream requirements from central government to the public sector front line by 2010. Includes 30% cross-Government target to reduce burdens on front line public sector staff

DSO 3: Deliver free and fair markets, with greater competition, for businesses, consumers and employees

  1. Progress on market opening in the EU and internationally in line with UK objectives of improving EU competitiveness and promoting development and poverty reduction in poorer countries
  2. UK framework for competition at level of world's best
  3. UK corporate governance environment at level of world's best
  4. Regulatory environment for business fully reflecting the government’s better regulation principles
  5. Labour market flexibility
  6. Awareness and enforcement of employment rights
  7. UK framework for consumer empowerment and support at level of world's best

DSO 4: Ensure the reliable supply and efficient use of clean, safe and competitively priced energy

  1. CO2 emissions: 60% reduction from 1990 by 2050

    • UK CO2 emissions
    • CO2 intensity of UK economy

  2. Secure and reliable supply

    • de-rated peak capacity margin for electricity and gas
    • customer minutes lost on GB distribution networks for gas and electricity

  3. Competitively priced energy

    • industrial gas and electricity prices compared to EU15 median
    • number of households needing to spend more than 10% of income on fuel to keep warm

  4. Safe energy supply

    • absence of significant safety-related incidents

DSO 5: Manage energy liabilities effectively and responsibly

To establish a safe, affordable, innovative and dynamic market for clean up and decommissioning and to ensure progress in tacking the civil nuclear liability in line with agreed end states for the NDA’s sites and delivering value for money, through:

  1. A reduction in UK civil nuclear liabilities at least in line with agreed and published NDA business plans.
  2. Delivering minimum value for money savings on costs equivalent to 3% per annum averaged over the 3 year CSR07 period from 2008-09
  3. A reduction of the risk associated with high hazards by progressively mitigating hazards and ensuring radioactive waste continues to be put into a passively safe form

Effective and responsible management of coal health schemes:

    4 . Achievement of the Aspirational Scheme End Date (ASED) for completion of the COPD Coal Health Compensation scheme

DSO 6: Ensure that government acts as an effective and intelligent shareholder, and provide a source of excellent corporate finance expertise within Government

  1. Individual company targets, including targets aimed at increasing value * (Revised - previously, 'Aggregate value for portfolio businesses')
  2. Dividend payments from portfolio businesses or agreed Dividend policies * (Revised - previously, 'Dividend payments from relevant portfolio businesses')
  3. Stakeholder satisfaction with the discharge of the Shareholder Executive’s responsibilities
  4. Expand the Shareholder Executive’s offer to greater proportion of HMG businesses and corporate finance situations

* In 2007, following the Shareholder Executive's success in exceeding its three year target to increase the value of six of its portfolio companies by £1bn, the Shareholder Executive looked to develop individual business performance targets to support an aggregate portfolio-wide target. This aggregate target was reflected in DSO indicators 1 and 2. However, following detailed work, the Shareholder Executive concluded that the individual business targets, focussing on value drivers and dividend, would be a clearer indicator of performance in achieving DSO6 than an aggregated target. Indicators 1 and 2 for DSO6 have therefore been revised to reflect this.

DSO 7: Provide the professional support, capability and infrastructure to enable BERR’s objectives and programmes to be successfully delivered

  1. Progress in building the capability of the department to meet future challenges

 

 

 

 

© Crown copyright2009