Recommendation 18

The operational delays caused by the July 2024 machinery of government change, combined with shifting priorities, has hamstrung delivery of the vision set out in the blueprint. Unlike DSIT, the Cabinet Office is a coordinating department with the ability to drive change in the name of the Prime Minister. As digital is now essential to the operation of every government department and public body, we believe that the Cabinet Office should have housed the digital centre, not DSIT. However, at this stage in the Parliament, it would be unrealistic to recommend a reversal of the change. Instead, the government must follow the logic of the ‘digital centre of government’ label and empower GDS to deliver, with clear political and technical leadership. (Conclusion, Paragraph 59)