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Department for
Business, Energy Pormanut Under-Secretary of State
& Industrial Strategy 1 Victoria Steet
London
Alisdair Cameron
Interim Chief Executive Officer EL.
Post Office Ltd
20 Finsbury Street Our ref: ACIB SIIGS
London
EC2Y 9AQ
May 2019
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ACCOUNTABLE PERSON: INSTRUCTION FROM BEIS PERMANENT SECRETARY TO
THE CEO OF POST OFFICE LTD ON ACCOUNTASBILITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
As the Principal Accounting Officer, I hereby designate you as POL’s Accountable Person
and, as such, you are to take personal responsibility for running the organisation in
accordance with the principles of regularity, propriety, value for money and feasibility set out
in Managing Public Money, while recognising that as a Public Corporation operating in
commercial markets POL needs to take investment and other financial decisions in
accordance with common business principles and practices.
The standards to ensure that your organisation follows are summarised in Managing
Public Money Box 3.1: Standards Expected of the Accounting Officer’s Organisation:
“Acting within the authority of the minister(s) to whom he or she is responsible, the accounting officer
should ensure that the organisation, and any ALBs it sponsors, operates effectively and to a high
standard of probity. The organisation should:
governance
* have a governance structure which transmits, delegates, implements and enforces decisions
* have trustworthy internal controls to safeguard, channel and record resources as intended
* work cooperatively with partners in the public interest
* operate with propriety and regularity in all its transactions
* treat its customers and business counterparties fairly, honestly and with integrity
* offer appropriate redress for failure to meet agreed customer standards
« give timely, transparent and realistic accounts of its business and decisions, underpinning public
confidence;
decision-making
* support its ministers with clear, well-reasoned, timely and impartial advice
+ make all its decisions in line with the strategy, aims and objectives of the organisation set by
ministers and/or in legislation
* take a balanced view of the organisation’s approach to managing opportunity and risk
* impose no more than proportionate and defensible burdens on business;
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financial management
+ use its resources efficiently, economically and effectively, avoiding waste and extravagance
+ plan to use its resources on an affordable and sustainable path, within agreed limits
* carry out procurement and project appraisal objectively and fairly, using cost benefit analysis and
generally seeking good value for the Exchequer as a whole
* use management information systems to gain assurance about value for money and the quality of
delivery and so make timely adjustments
* avoid over defining detail and imposing undue compliance costs, either internally or on its
customers and stakeholders
* have practical documented arrangements for controlling or working in partnership with other
organisations, as appropriate
* use internal and external audit to improve its internal controls and performance.”
The Committee of Public Accounts may invite you to attend as a witness at its evidence
sessions. This is not optional, and it is only with specific agreement of the Chair of the
Committee that you may defer your attendance or send a substitute.
Your designation is in line with latest HM Treasury advice on Public Corporations. The
Office for National Statistics (ONS) has classified POL as a Public Corporation. As such,
POL is not in scope for standard Cabinet Office controls, except as agreed with HMG and
the Shareholder, and it is recognised that POL needs to take investment and other financial
decisions in accordance with common business principles and practices. Where any
government fiscal controls may apply, it is POL’s responsibility to identify these, with
assistance from BEIS and UKGI.
Any funding received from BEIS or any other Government Department should only be used
in accordance with the terms and conditions attached to the relevant Funding Agreement
and you should provide any assurance required by the relevant Funding Agreement. Any
other income received should be treated as public money and have the same standards
applied to it as set out in Managing Public Money.
For further guidance, please refer to the following Treasury issued handbooks:
* The accounting officer’s survival guide: the main accounting officer's responsibilities;
¢ Parliamentary scrutiny of public spending: practical guidance on engagement with the
National Audit office and the Committee of Public Accounts; and
* Regularity, Propriety and Value for Money: learning examples for accounting officers
Yours sincerely,
Alex Chisholm