New OGP IRM Report for U.K. Makes Recommendations to Strengthen Open Government Agenda

The United Kingdom has been a global leader on open government and anti-corruption efforts. Since co-founding the Open Government PartnershipThe Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a multi-stakeholder initiative focused on improving government transparency, ensuring opportunities for citizen participation in public matters, and strengthen... More (OGP) in 2011 and hosting the 2016 Anti-Corruption Summit, it has paved the way in areas such as transparencyAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the pub... More in the beneficial ownershipDisclosing beneficial owners — those who ultimately control or profit from a business — is essential for combating corruption, stemming illicit financial flows, and fighting tax evasion. Technical... of companies and in the extractive sector. As a member of OGP, the U.K. has co-created and implemented reforms on these issues through four open government action plans.  

However, the Independent Reporting Mechanism’s (IRM) latest report found that the U.K. Government fell short of maintaining a constant dialogue with civil society organisations   during the development of the latest action planAction plans are at the core of a government’s participation in OGP. They are the product of a co-creation process in which government and civil society jointly develop commitments to open governmen... (2019-21), which, compared to the previous action plans, contains less ambitious commitments for opening government. 

The IRM report, which assesses the design of the U.K.’s current OGP action plan, recommends that the U.K. should ensure effective public oversight over contracts and public procurementTransparency in the procurement process can help combat corruption and waste that plagues a significant portion of public procurement budgets globally. Technical specifications: Commitments that aim t... related to COVID-19 response and recovery. For accountability of COVID-19 funds, the U.K. could commit to publishing data using the Open ContractingA transparent procurement process, known as open contracting, increases competition, improves public service delivery, and ensures governments better value for their money. Technical specifications: C... Data Standard and in a timely manner. In addition, the report suggests that the U.K. investigate and sanction possible cases of abuse in COVID-19-related procurement and contracts. 

Another recommendation is for the U.K. to amend and strengthen the U.K. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to ensure timely responses to information requests, and cover private entities that provide public services. Currently, a significant number of public bodies delay FOIA requests without penalty and the Information Commissioner’s Office has recommended strengthening the FOIA legislationCreating and passing legislation is one of the most effective ways of ensuring open government reforms have long-lasting effects on government practices. Technical specifications: Act of creating or r... to outsourced public services. 

The IRM report also makes recommendations to strengthen the co-creation processCollaboration between government, civil society and other stakeholders (e.g., citizens, academics, private sector) is at the heart of the OGP process. Participating governments must ensure that a dive... between government and civil society. Here, the IRM suggests increased ministerial participation for greater visibility of the OGP process, especially given that the latest action plan’s co-creation process lacked high-level government involvement. The U.K. government could also improve communication with civil society and maintain an iterative dialogue on key policy areas considered for open government reforms. The report finds there was a significant delay between the consultations with civil society and the publication of the final plan, without any communication from the government side on the reasons for the delay. In addition, the government did not provide reasoning behind how certain stakeholder priorities were considered when developing the plan. This contravenes the OGP co-creation requirements. 

According to the report there were some mitigating factors. For example, the uncertainties and redeployment of civil servants in preparation for the U.K.’s departure from the European Union ultimately delayed the launch of the U.K.’s fourth action plan (2019-2021) to one year later than originally scheduled. The COVID-19 pandemic also forced the government to shift its focus to urgent safety and health matters. As the UK begins to work on its next OGP action plan the government has an opportunity to work closely with civil society to make ambitious commitments that could position the country as a champion of open government in the post-pandemic world.