Senior ministers, especially from the Cabinet Office and the Treasury, are set to join forces in efforts to achieve greater coordination and cooperation between Government departments.

The shift in favour of partnership, as opposed to independent action, reflects a number of trends evident in recent months, including:

• the Prime Minister's advocacy of "joined up" services
• restructuring of public procurement systems, seeking to increase efficiency and cut the multi-billion pound cost
• recent criticism focused on areas where the Government had hoped to set the example, such as take up of technology and more flexible working.

The Cabinet Office report "Wiring It Up" calls for a number of innovations to achieve greater effectiveness. These range from identifying ministerial champions to pursue cross-department policies, greater promotion of successes and more acceptance of failure in the face of acknowledged risks, and more involvement of outside experts, together with increased consultation.

Elliott Chase