Guide
Moving billions to the public is a control problem, not a generosity problem. Here is how to design and run a large support scheme that reaches the right people and stands up to scrutiny.
By Christopher Fagan, Managing Partner
When government moves money at scale, paying it out is the easy bit. The hard part is making sure every pound reaches the right recipient, that the organisations disbursing it cannot lose or misuse it, and that the whole scheme stands up to audit and public scrutiny. Design for control first and the rest follows.
Readiness has to be proven, not assumed. That means a clear, evidenced standard that every disbursing organisation has to meet before funds are released, applied consistently so no one is waved through. Setting that bar early is what prevents problems later.
Controls that are bolted on after launch rarely hold. The rules, checks and enforcement that keep funds on track belong in the design of the scheme, with the teeth to act when something is wrong rather than only report it.
Every scheme of this kind will be examined by auditors, ministers and the public. The evidence that it was delivered as intended has to be captured as you go, not reconstructed under pressure afterwards. A scheme that can show its working survives scrutiny that sinks one that cannot.
Assume from day one that you will have to answer, in detail, where the money went and why. Build the reporting and the trail to answer those questions cleanly, and the scrutiny that follows becomes a formality rather than a crisis.
PEF led exactly this kind of work as Project Director for the £9bn Energy Bills Support Scheme, accountable to Ofgem, BEIS and HMRC for control, compliance and making sure the money reached households. See our large scheme assurance and funds control service.
Government bodies, regulators, utilities and anyone disbursing large sums or grants on behalf of others, where the money has to reach the right recipients and stand up to audit.
By proving readiness before funds are released, building compliance and enforcement into the scheme rather than bolting it on, and capturing evidence as you go.
Evidence. A scheme that can show, in detail, where the money went and why will survive the scrutiny that sinks one relying on assurances after the fact.
Yes. We were Project Director on the £9bn Energy Bills Support Scheme, accountable to Ofgem, BEIS and HMRC for control, compliance and getting the money to households.