Civil Service Fast Stream Assessment Public Sector Context and Commercial Awareness Syllabus

What are the 'three Es' of value for money in the public sector?

Economy (minimising input costs), Efficiency (maximising output per input), and Effectiveness (achieving intended outcomes). Some frameworks add Equity as a fourth E.

What is the difference between efficiency and effectiveness?

Efficiency is the ratio of outputs to inputs (doing things right / at least cost). Effectiveness is whether the outputs actually achieve the intended outcomes (doing the right things).

What distinguishes an output from an outcome in public service delivery?

An output is a direct product of activity (e.g. number of operations performed). An outcome is the resulting change or benefit (e.g. improved population health). Outcomes are the ultimate goal.

What is meant by 'productivity' in the public sector and how is it broadly measured?

Productivity is the volume of outputs produced relative to the volume of inputs used. Broadly $\text{Productivity} = \frac{\text{Outputs}}{\text{Inputs}}$; rising productivity means more or better output for the same resources.

What is devolution in the UK and which nations have devolved governments?

Devolution is the statutory transfer of powers from the UK Parliament to elected bodies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, each with its own government and legislature, while sovereignty remains with Westminster.

What is the Barnett formula?

The mechanism that adjusts the block grants to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland by allocating a population-based share of changes in comparable English (or England-and-Wales) departmental spending.

What does 'reserved' versus 'devolved' mean in UK devolution?

Reserved matters (e.g. defence, foreign affairs, the constitution, most macroeconomic policy) stay with Westminster. Devolved matters (e.g. health, education, much of local government) are decided by the devolved administrations.

What is the Sewel Convention?

The convention that the UK Parliament will not normally legislate on devolved matters without the consent of the relevant devolved legislature (via a Legislative Consent Motion).

What is 'place-based' working in the context of public services?

Designing and joining up services around the needs of a specific geographic area or community, coordinating across organisations and policy areas, rather than delivering each service in a national silo.

What is the rationale behind relocating Civil Service roles out of London?

To spread economic opportunity (levelling up), bring policymakers closer to communities and frontline delivery, widen the talent pool, improve diversity of experience, and reduce property costs.

Name a major Civil Service programme aimed at moving jobs out of London.

'Places for Growth' (and the establishment of hubs such as the Treasury's Darlington campus), part of a commitment to relocate tens of thousands of Civil Service roles to the regions and nations.

What is digital transformation of public services?

Redesigning government services around user needs using modern technology and data — building accessible, end-to-end digital services, shared platforms and APIs — to improve outcomes, efficiency and user experience.

Which organisation set the original UK Government Digital Service standards, and what is the GOV.UK design principle 'start with user needs'?

The Government Digital Service (GDS). 'Start with user needs' means designing services around what users actually need to accomplish, based on research and evidence, not around internal organisational structures.

What does 'government as a platform' mean?

Building shared, reusable components and common technology platforms (e.g. for payments, notifications, identity) that multiple departments can use, avoiding duplication and speeding up service delivery.

What is the difference between a market and direct state provision in delivering public services?

Direct provision: the state itself delivers the service using public employees. Markets/commissioning: the state buys services from external providers (private/voluntary) via contracts, using competition to drive value and choice.

What is meant by 'market failure' as a justification for government intervention?

Situations where markets do not allocate resources efficiently — e.g. public goods, externalities, information asymmetry, monopoly power — providing an economic rationale for state action or regulation.

Define a public good and give its two key characteristics.

A public good is non-rival (one person's use does not reduce availability to others) and non-excludable (you cannot easily prevent non-payers from benefiting), e.g. national defence. Markets tend to under-provide it.

What is an externality, and how can government correct a negative one?

An externality is a cost or benefit affecting third parties not reflected in market prices. A negative externality (e.g. pollution) can be corrected by taxes, regulation, or tradable permits to internalise the cost.

What is commissioning in public services?

The strategic cycle of assessing needs, designing and specifying services, procuring/contracting providers, and monitoring and reviewing delivery to secure the best outcomes and value for the population served.

Distinguish risk from uncertainty in delivery.

Risk involves outcomes whose probabilities can be estimated and managed. Uncertainty involves situations where probabilities (or even possible outcomes) are unknown and cannot be reliably quantified.

What are the typical stages of the risk management cycle?

Identify risks; assess/analyse them (likelihood × impact); evaluate and prioritise; respond (treat, tolerate, transfer, terminate); and monitor/review continuously.

How is risk exposure commonly scored, and what are the '4 Ts' of risk response?

Risk score $=\text{Likelihood} \times \text{Impact}$. The 4 Ts are Treat (mitigate), Tolerate (accept), Transfer (e.g. insure/contract out), and Terminate (avoid the activity).

What is the Orange Book in UK government?

HM Treasury's guidance on the management of risk, setting out principles and a framework for identifying, assessing and managing risk across government organisations.

What is the 'optimism bias' the Green Book warns about, and how is it addressed?

The systematic tendency to be over-optimistic about project costs, timescales and benefits. The Green Book requires explicit adjustments (uplifts) to costs and durations to correct for it in appraisal.

What is stakeholder management and a common tool for prioritising stakeholders?

Identifying, analysing and engaging the parties affected by or able to influence a project. A power/interest grid (mapping stakeholders by their power and level of interest) helps decide how to manage each group.

In supplier/contract management, what is the difference between a fixed-price and a cost-reimbursable contract?

Fixed-price: supplier delivers for an agreed sum, bearing cost-overrun risk. Cost-reimbursable: the buyer pays the supplier's actual costs plus a fee, so the buyer bears more cost risk; suited to uncertain scope.

What are KPIs and SLAs in supplier relationship management?

KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are metrics measuring a supplier's performance against objectives. SLAs (Service Level Agreements) are contractual commitments specifying the standard of service the supplier must meet.

What is evidence-based (or evidence-informed) policymaking?

Using the best available research, data and evaluation evidence — alongside professional judgement and values — to design, decide and refine policy, rather than relying on ideology or anecdote alone.

What is a randomised controlled trial (RCT) and why is it valued in policy evaluation?

An experiment randomly assigning subjects to a treatment group and a control group, so differences in outcomes can be causally attributed to the intervention. It is the strongest design for establishing impact (counterfactual).

What is the 'counterfactual' in impact evaluation?

What would have happened in the absence of the intervention. Measuring impact means comparing actual outcomes against this counterfactual to isolate the effect attributable to the policy.

What was the 'Modernising Government'/current Civil Service aim regarding capability — name two cross-cutting priorities.

Building a Skilled, Innovative and Ambitious civil service: priorities include improving skills/capability (e.g. digital, data, project delivery, commercial), strengthening workforce diversity, and increasing efficiency and accountability for outcomes.

Name the UK's two main economic policy levers and which bodies control them.

Fiscal policy (taxation and spending), controlled by HM Treasury/government; and monetary policy (interest rates and money supply), set independently by the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee.