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Objectives The objectives of the Improved Reporting to Parliament Project are:
- to improve the Expenditure Management documents supplied to Parliament;
and
- to produce and distribute departmental planning and performance
information to Parliament and the Canadian public more efficiently and economically, using
information technology.
Revised Part III of the Estimates
In consultation with members of Parliament, the Improved Reporting to
Parliament Project team worked with six departments to revise their Part III Estimates
documents. They divided information on planning, performance and supplementary
information into separate chapters. In March 1996, the President of the Treasury
Board tabled the revised Part III documents along with the 1996-97 Main Estimates.
An evaluation of the pilot documents indicated broad support for
replacing the existing Part III publications with separate planning and performance
reports, to be tabled at different times in the year. In June 1996, the House of Commons
unanimously adopted a report recommending that the effort to improve expenditure
management information be continued, and that Departmental Performance Reports be tabled
on a pilot basis in October 1996.
On April 24, 1997, the House of Commons passed a motion dividing what
was known as the Part III of the Estimates document for each department or agency into two
documents, a Report on Plans and Priorities and a Departmental Performance Report. It also
required all departments and agencies to table these reports on a pilot basis.
Departmental Performance Reports
Sixteen departments agreed to report on the results they achieved for
the fiscal year ending March 31, 1996, as a pilot project. Their individual Performance
Reports provided information on results actually obtained in serving Canadians, and on the
cost of serving them. These reports presented information on past performance, and were
intended to help parliamentarians assess departmental plans and priorities for upcoming
fiscal years.
Providing separate reports on performance increases the visibility of
this information, encourages reporting of results, and improves accountability. Linking
these to the President's annual report, creates a single window for accountability
information, both across government and within departments. This kind of information is
particularly valuable, too, in a results-oriented management environment - for making
decisions, improving services to clients, and ensuring that the right kinds of programs
are being delivered.
The President of the Treasury Board tabled the annual report and the
individual performance reports in the House of Commons at the end of October 1996.
Overall, the key stakeholders were very supportive of performance
reports. They recognized that improvements are possible, but felt that the way to
encourage this initiative was to continue to table the reports separately but earlier, and
to promote their use by Parliament, central agencies, and departments themselves.
On November 6, 1997, the President of Treasury Board tabled all 78
departmental performance reports and his annual report on government review, Accounting
for Results.
On October 29, 1998, the President of the Treasury Board tabled 80
departmental performance reports and his annual report, Managing for Results.
In Year Update
As part of the effort to modernize the vote and control framework, the
departments participating in the pilot project also produced an In Year Update, which
highlighted: adjustments to program priorities and expectations; significant resource
shifts between votes, business lines, or programs; and changes to planned spending as set
out in the Part III documents tabled at the time of the Main Estimates.
The President of the Treasury Board tabled the In Year Update in the
House of Commons on November 21, 1996.
Further developmental work in this area will be undertaken.
Reports on Plans and Priorities
The same sixteen departments involved in the preparation of the
Performance Reports tabled pilot Report on Plans and Priorities for 1997/98 on February
20, 1997. These documents replaced their former Part IIIs.
These reports reflected lessons learned from pilot Part III documents
that were tested with Parliament in March 1996 and from the performance reports piloted in
October 1996. The key improvements introduced to date as part of the Report on Plans are:
- provide an opportunity for Ministers to convey a message;
- include information on two out-years beyond the Main Estimates year and
eliminate the requirement for departments and agencies to prepare separate Outlook
documents;
- ensure consistency between the RPP and the Budget by reporting on planned
spending;
- indicate priorities and expected results;
- include Legislative and Major Regulatory Initiatives and replace the
Federal Regulatory Plan publication;
- move "performance information" from the previous Part III to a
separate document called the Departmental Performance Report which is tabled in the fall;
and,
- place a strong emphasis on simple and clear communications.
On March 25, 1998, the President of the Treasury Board tabled 80 Reports
on Plans and Priorities.
On March 25, 1999 the President of the Treasury Board will table
approximately 82 Reports on Plans and Priorities. However, as part of the ongoing effort
to improve the quality of these documents, several departments will be presented in a
streamlined format with an increased emphasis on results management.
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