Better data needed to keep government procurement card on track

Some central government departments are unable to monitor whether the government procurement card is being effectively due to poor management information, a report by the National Audit Office (NAO) has found. The government procurement card was introduced in 1997 as a way for public sector organisations to pay for low value items such as stationery or travel. The NAO report, which looked at how the cards are used within central government departments and how spending through them is controlled, found varying standards of management information across Whitehall, and ready access to data not universal across departments. According to the NAO, departments that are not gathering accurate data are weakening the controls around the cards' use, leaving them unable to assess their adherence to policies relating to the card, their exposure to risk, or review whether controls on the use of the card meet their business needs. "A department should have high quality and timely management information on using the card, with regular reporting. This will help them to oversee whether cardholders are using the card when the policy says they should; whether cardholders comply with controls; and whether there are any suspicious transactions that require investigating," it says. During its investigations the NAO found that departments' levels of management information depended on the terms of their contract with their card provider and the sophistication of their own systems. For example, some departments had access to online systems that allowed them to interrogate transaction data in real time, while others had access to a suite of reports, including declined transaction reports, unused card reports, and lists of cards that the card provider was monitoring because of unusual activity. "Where departments do not have access to timely and accurate management information on spending, this represents a barrier to managing the controls," the report says. Improving management information would help the government and departments to understand how the card is used and the risks involved, and to design appropriate controls with clear objectives, the NAO said. The document calls on the government procurement service to work with card providers and departments to develop a consistent way to gather data and report on spending. Amyas Morse, head of the NAO, said: "The government procurement card can be a cost-effective way for central government to buy goods and services. However, the taxpayer needs to have confidence that departmental staff are using it appropriately. "There is a risk of this confidence, and the reputation of departments, being undermined where there is inconsistency between departments in the controls on the use of the cards and a lack of central guidance." By October 2011, 23,998 cards were in use across central government, with spending using the cards totalling £322m and 1.75m transactions made in 2010-11. The average value of each purchase was £184. In the same year the Ministry of Defence accounted for some 74% (£237m) of central government's total spending using the card. At the other end of the scale, HM Revenue and Customs spent £205,000. This article is published by Guardian Professional. For weekly updates on news, debate and best practice on public sector IT, join the Guardian Government Computing network here.