1993 Report of the Auditor General of Canada

1993 Report—Chapter 6

Exhibits 6.5—The Next Steps Initiative in the United Kingdom

In February 1988, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom announced in the House of Commons that the government had accepted the key recommendations of a major report of the Efficiency Unit, entitled "Improving Management In Government: The Next Steps".

The central feature of the Next Steps initiative in the United Kingdom is the separation of policy work from operational activities, with the latter assigned to executive agencies created within departments. These agencies are given greater managerial autonomy, but operate within published policy and resource frameworks that require explicit planning and review procedures to be followed. Next Steps agencies' broad aims and objectives are specified in these frameworks, and the responsible minister annually sets performance targets for each agency to meet.

There has been substantial growth in the Next Steps program. As of April 1993, over 350,000 civil servants, about 60 percent of the total, were working in agencies and other organizations operating along Next Steps lines.