Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what role UK universities will have in the National School of Government and Public Services; and whether the School will have the ability to commission training and expertise directly from universities and university consortia.

The Civil Service values its people, invests in their growth, and is serious about building the capability to meet the challenges of the future. This autumn the National School of Government and Public Services will formally open its doors to civil servants. The learning the school provides will boost public sector productivity and accelerate the pace of progress towards delivering the excellent, digitally-enabled public services to be expected from a modern state.

The National School will move away from the historical prime-contractor framework model. This new approach will create direct relationships with the learning and developing sector, including UK universities and university consortia. These relationships will be a combination of direct commercial relationships and strategic relationships.

We recently launched our College of Experts, a set of academic and external experts who can bring insight to and advise on all aspects of the National School’s work. The College of Experts will broaden the National School’s evidence base and strengthen knowledge exchange across government and academia.