Analytical modelling and UK Government policy

In the last decade the UK Government has attempted to implement improved processes and procedures in modelling and analysis in response to the Laidlaw report of 2012 and the Macpherson review of 2013. The Laidlaw report was commissioned after failings during the Inter City West Coast Rail Franchise procurement that led to a legal challenge of the models used within the exercise. The Macpherson review looked into the quality assurance of Government analytical models in the context of the experience with the Intercity West Coast franchise competition. This paper examines what progress, if any, has been made in the 8 years since the Laidlaw report in model building and best practise in government, and proposes several recommendations for ways forward.