Our governance

The main decision-making, executive and managerial bodies in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

You can find more information on each of our boards and committees, and view a visual representation of our board structure, on pages 171 to 180 of the DWP annual report and accounts 2023 to 2024.

Departmental Board members

The Departmental Board is chaired by the Secretary of State and forms the collective strategic and operational leadership of the department. It brings together the ministerial and civil service leaders with senior non-executives from outside government.

The board:

  • supports and advises ministers and the department on strategic issues linked to the development and implementation of the government’s objectives
  • horizon scans for emerging issues
  • monitors performance
  • oversees the management of risks
  • sets the overall strategic direction for the department

Departmental Board members

The Departmental Board has 3 sub-committees which are chaired by non-executive board members.

Departmental Audit and Risk Assurance Committee

The Departmental Audit and Risk Assurance Committee provides an independent review of the appropriateness, adequacy, integrity and value for money of the department’s governance, risk management and control processes. The committee’s main focus covers, but is not limited to, 5 specific areas:

  • corporate governance
  • risk management
  • audit
  • accounting and reporting
  • security

Departmental Audit and Risk Assurance Committee members

  • Charlie Steel, non-executive board member
  • Taalib Shaah, non-executive board member
  • Sally Cheshire CBE, non-executive
  • Ian Wilson, non-executive
  • Catherine Vaughan, Director General, Finance
  • Director, Payments, System and Financial Control 
  • Chief Operating Officer, Digital Group 
  • DWP Chief Risk Officer 
  • DWP Chief Security Officer 
  • Director, Service Planning and Optimisation 
  • Director, Capability, Learning and Talent 
  • Director, Private Pensions and Arm’s Length Bodies
  • Deputy Director, Financial Control and Policy 
  • Director, Internal Audit DWP (GIAA) 
  • Deputy Director, Internal Audit DWP (GIAA) 
  • Representatives of National Audit Office 
  • Deputy Director, Governance and Legislation

Executive Leadership Board

The Executive Leadership Board supports the Departmental Board in its responsibilities to scrutinise the Department’s:

  • strategies and plans for talent management

  • senior performance management

  • capability building and succession planning arrangements

Transformation Advisory Committee

The Transformation Advisory Committee provides independent expert advice. It enables DWP and its arms-length bodies to explore the potential to transform service delivery through digitalisation and by adopting the department’s business strategy and target operating model.

The committee provides advice and support to the Digital and Service Excellence functions of DWP to support its strategic transformation goals to:

  • optimise the citizen experience across multiple channels to make services more accessible and efficient
  • enhance agent capabilities to offer better customer service
  • use data to minimise fraud and error, simplify citizen interactions and reduce processing cost

Executive Team

The Executive Team is the senior decision-making body and provides corporate leadership for the department. The Executive Team:

  • defines, promotes and clearly communicates the department’s shared values
  • advises ministers on the overarching vision, departmental strategy and supporting strategies for delivering ministerial objectives
  • considers the strategic implications of major policy developments and agrees significant corporate policies
  • takes key corporate decisions in planning and investment to support the delivery of departmental objectives
  • manages corporate performance against the department’s strategic targets
  • ensures strategic risks are effectively managed
  • communicates the aims, objectives and performance of the department, both inside and outside the department
  • promotes collaborative working with key stakeholders and partners both inside and outside government
  • designs and secures a sound governance framework and overall system of internal control that is complied with
  • identifies and develops the department’s future leadership through talent management and succession planning and agree diversity strategies

Executive Team members

There are a number of formal sub-committees of the Executive Team.

Investment Committee

The Investment Committee is chaired by the Director General, Finance and provides a senior second line of assurance on the department’s large-scale investments. It:

  • takes decisions on prioritising and starting new activities
  • helps ensure that projects and programmes achieve the department’s and government’s policy objectives and provide value for money
  • oversees and manages the department’s in-year financial position and scrutinises its multi-year plans

People and Capacity Board

The People and Capacity Board is chaired by the Director General, People and Capability. It provides governance for:

  • strategic workforce planning, capability and people strategies

  • estates and workplace transformation

Change Portfolio Board

The Change Portfolio Board is chaired by the Director General, Change and Resilience and provides a forum to manage the department’s major change projects. The board oversees all change activity within DWP through the department’s ‘Single View of Change’ and helps the department prioritise major change activity.

Risk Assurance Board

The Risk Assurance Board is chaired by the Chief Risk Officer. The board:

  • develops and reviews the department’s principal risks
  • examines the department’s total risk position
  • monitors the effectiveness of risk management plans
  • helps identify new and emerging risks

The board provides assurance to the Executive Team and the Departmental Audit and Risk Assurance Committee that risks are being managed effectively.

A LEAP exercise follows an error on the part of a government department, and the error could have deprived individuals of their legal rights. The LEAP and Litigation Board is chaired by the Director General, Finance. It has oversight of all LEAP and corrective activity within the department. The board provides advice and assurance to the Executive Team about strengthening the deliverability of the overall departmental LEAP challenge, as well as setting the strategic direction. It has close links with the People and Capacity Board and routinely supports key agenda items on resource availability and capability.

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