Recommendations & Conclusions
10 items
8
Recommendation
Thirtieth Report - Challenges in implem…
Accepted
The risks associated with legacy systems include that they can be difficult and expensive to support, lack operational resilience for key government services, and be vulnerable to cyber-attack. This exposes government to what is likely to be an uncertain but high level of financial risk from potential operational and cyber-related …
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The risks associated with legacy systems include that they can be difficult and expensive to support, lack operational resilience for key government services, and be vulnerable to cyber-attack. This exposes government to what is likely to be an uncertain but high level of financial risk from potential operational and cyber-related incidents. Legacy systems need a significant level of resource to make more regular, incremental updates over time.20 Given there are so many legacy systems in government, we asked how long it will be before it becomes necessary to start replacing them.21 The Cabinet Office responded that it wants to focus on those systems that are high-risk, or which present an impediment to business transformation.22 This requires departments to have a plan for how to manage their legacy estate, including sufficient funding for maintenance.23
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Government response AI summary
The government accepted the recommendation, committing to work with departments to map and prioritise high-risk legacy systems, establish a common methodology by the end of 2022, and agree remediation plans, with progress monitored through quarterly reviews.
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HM Treasury
9
Conclusion
Thirtieth Report - Challenges in implem…
Accepted
Departments typically do not have a good understanding of their IT estate, legacy systems are often poorly understood because of their age, and replacing these systems 10 Q 7 11 Dr Jerry Fishenden, Professor Mark Thompson and Assistant Professor Will Venters submission page 2 12 Qq 13–14 13 Qq 27, …
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Departments typically do not have a good understanding of their IT estate, legacy systems are often poorly understood because of their age, and replacing these systems 10 Q 7 11 Dr Jerry Fishenden, Professor Mark Thompson and Assistant Professor Will Venters submission page 2 12 Qq 13–14 13 Qq 27, 7 14 Chair opening statement 15 Q 1 16 C&AG’s Report, para 2.15 17 Committee of Public Accounts, Digital Services at the Border, Forty-Eighth Report of Session 2019–21, HC 936, 12 March 2021; Committee of Public Accounts, e-Borders and successor programmes, Twenty-seventh Report of Session 2015–16, HC 643, 4 March 2016; Committee of Public Accounts, The National Law Enforcement Data Programme, Twenty-Ninth Report of Session 2021–22, HC 638, 8 December 2021 18 Q 1 19 C&AG’s Report, para 2.17 20 C&AG’s Report, paras 2.25–2.16 21 Q 39 22 Q 40 23 C&AG’s Report, para 8h 10 Challenges in implementing digital change carries risk.24 We asked the Cabinet Office if anyone has a clear picture as to what major legacy systems exist across government. The Cabinet Office told us that it has recently started to try and build-up this overall picture and that departments are getting more detailed in their understanding. However, it acknowledged there is not yet a clear on- going process for assessing and understanding cross-government legacy risk. The Cabinet Office is piloting a simple, risk-based model with three departments that it hopes will provide this dynamic view of legacy IT across government and enable conversations about funding with HM Treasury. This process is due be rolled out more widely in 2022.25 Missed opportunities for transformation
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Government response AI summary
The government accepted the implicit recommendation to map and prioritise legacy IT systems, committing the CDDO to establish a common methodology and agree remediation plans across departments by the end of 2022.
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HM Treasury
11
Recommendation
Thirtieth Report - Challenges in implem…
Accepted
Government has developed several systems to meet new requirements, such as for checking and processing applications under the EU Settlement Scheme. However, the deadline for EU Exit and Government decisions on the timetable for withdrawing the rights previously exercised by EU nationals meant that these systems all had to be …
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Government has developed several systems to meet new requirements, such as for checking and processing applications under the EU Settlement Scheme. However, the deadline for EU Exit and Government decisions on the timetable for withdrawing the rights previously exercised by EU nationals meant that these systems all had to be in place by a fixed deadline. Government designed and built these systems to meet own their specific, narrow purposes so they could deliver them on time.30 This represents another missed opportunity to think further ahead about how these systems and their associated data flows could be more widely joined-up across government.
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the recommendation to develop more joined-up systems, setting an implementation target of end-December 2022. It outlines plans for wholesale digital transformation led by CDDO, including establishing funding and governance models, prioritising automation opportunities, and identifying critical services for transformation.
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HM Treasury
12
Recommendation
Thirtieth Report - Challenges in implem…
Accepted
The Cabinet Office pointed to the role that central platforms such as GOV.UK Pay and Notify have played, for example sending alerts and test results to citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic.31 But the functions they perform are relatively straightforward commodity services that are already easily available and used extensively in …
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The Cabinet Office pointed to the role that central platforms such as GOV.UK Pay and Notify have played, for example sending alerts and test results to citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic.31 But the functions they perform are relatively straightforward commodity services that are already easily available and used extensively in the private sector. We are not convinced these examples demonstrate government’s ability to secure the deeper levels of transformation and business change needed to achieve a more fundamental redesign of services for the digital age.32 Cultivating better systems analysis, data analysis and design skills would help government gain a greater understanding of where to focus its efforts.33 24 C&AG’s Report, para 2.18 25 Q 39 26 C&AG’s Report, paras 2.15–2.21 27 C&AG’s Report, Figure 3 28 Q 18; Cabinet Office, Organising for Digital Delivery, published 22 July 2021, p. 2. Available at https://www.gov. uk/government/publications/organising-for-digital-delivery 29 Qq 22, 67 30 Qq 7, 36–37 31 Q 68 32 Q 4 33 Dr Jerry Fishenden, Professor Mark Thompson and Assistant Professor Will Venters submission page 4 Challenges in implementing digital change 11 2 Co-ordination, skills and outsourcing Strong and accountable co-ordination across government
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the need for deeper transformation and better skills, setting an implementation target of end-December 2022. It outlines plans for wholesale digital transformation led by CDDO, which will include identifying critical services for redesign and providing targeted interventions to achieve more fundamental …
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HM Treasury
13
Recommendation
Thirtieth Report - Challenges in implem…
Accepted
Government has not properly structured and resourced technology departments against good standards. This makes it difficult to manage the integration and connections between different systems, especially legacy systems, both within and outside programmes.34 This lack of resource and structure means that digital programmes do not have a strong technical design …
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Government has not properly structured and resourced technology departments against good standards. This makes it difficult to manage the integration and connections between different systems, especially legacy systems, both within and outside programmes.34 This lack of resource and structure means that digital programmes do not have a strong technical design function and programme office for each major programme. Departments need to staff these programme offices with people who have sufficiently deep digital expertise, and the centre should support them with a strong central team. This can help ensure departmental programmes deliver what is in the best interests of government as a whole.35
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Government response AI summary
The government accepted the recommendation, committing to develop guidance on legacy integration and mandate rigorous design, data, and infrastructure controls, with CDDO working with departments to improve management of large-scale transitions and monitoring adherence by the end of December 2022.
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HM Treasury
14
Conclusion
Thirtieth Report - Challenges in implem…
Accepted
Government’s central digital functions are relatively immature. Government only created the Central Digital and Data Office this year and set up the other central functions within the last decade. The Cabinet Office told us that they have started to strengthen central oversight of digital programmes, but we do not yet …
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Government’s central digital functions are relatively immature. Government only created the Central Digital and Data Office this year and set up the other central functions within the last decade. The Cabinet Office told us that they have started to strengthen central oversight of digital programmes, but we do not yet see a similar degree of oversight and control as established institutions such as HM Treasury exercise over the way departments manage their finances.36 Government operations are broad and complex, and departments are responsible for their own digital programmes, operating in a federated manner. This presents a significant challenge to putting in place common approaches.37
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Government response AI summary
The government accepted the implicit recommendation to strengthen central digital oversight, committing the CDDO to work with departments to improve large-scale programme management and monitor the cross-government legacy estate by the end of 2022.
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HM Treasury
15
Recommendation
Thirtieth Report - Challenges in implem…
Accepted
According to a recent report, government has had to rely on external contractors and consultants to make critical decisions on core design and architecture choices, which need a long-term and holistic view across government.38 The report recommends government creates a strong, expert central team with real ‘teeth’ to take ownership …
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According to a recent report, government has had to rely on external contractors and consultants to make critical decisions on core design and architecture choices, which need a long-term and holistic view across government.38 The report recommends government creates a strong, expert central team with real ‘teeth’ to take ownership of digital, data and technology standards including technology choices, privacy, security, and interoperability. The Cabinet Office told us that it accepts the recommendations of this report and has already implemented four of them with the others being in progress.39 Approach to suppliers and technology
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the recommendation to create a strong central team for digital standards and has a target implementation date of Summer 2022. It is publishing an updated DDaT Functional Standard and Assessment Framework and working on more detailed guidance and a DDaT Playbook.
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HM Treasury
16
Conclusion
Thirtieth Report - Challenges in implem…
Accepted
Funding for departmental technology functions is often not allocated in a way that enables them to both run and update their core systems and support business transformation. This Committee has seen in other digital programmes that the current spending review processes, which set separate capital and revenue allocations in short, …
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Funding for departmental technology functions is often not allocated in a way that enables them to both run and update their core systems and support business transformation. This Committee has seen in other digital programmes that the current spending review processes, which set separate capital and revenue allocations in short, fixed cycles, have contributed to an under-investment in resolving legacy system issues and ensuring systems remain fit for purpose.40 34 Qq 52–53 35 Qq 2, 70–71 36 Qq 2–3, 11–12 37 Q 70 38 Cabinet Office, Organising for Digital Delivery, published 22 July 2021, p. 9. Available at https://www.gov.uk/ government/publications/organising-for-digital-delivery 39 Q 59; Cabinet Office, Organising for Digital Delivery, published 22 July 2021, pp. 5–6. Available at https://www. gov.uk/government/publications/organising-for-digital-delivery 40 Qq 39, 41, 43; Cabinet Office, Organising for Digital Delivery, published 22 July 2021, p. 7. Available at https:// www.gov.uk/government/publications/organising-for-digital-delivery 12 Challenges in implementing digital change
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the observation and is investing £2.6 billion in cyber and legacy IT. CDDO is establishing a common methodology for identifying legacy risk by the end of 2022 and will work with departments to agree and monitor remediation plans.
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HM Treasury
18
Conclusion
Thirtieth Report - Challenges in implem…
Accepted
Departments have made technology choices too early in the life of digital programmes before they have fully understood the business problem the programme is seeking to address.42 Departments have then over specified supplier contracts to a degree of detail which does not match the department’s knowledge and this has resulted …
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Departments have made technology choices too early in the life of digital programmes before they have fully understood the business problem the programme is seeking to address.42 Departments have then over specified supplier contracts to a degree of detail which does not match the department’s knowledge and this has resulted in a loss of flexibility.43 Consequently, departments have struggled to change the direction of programmes in response to later events.44 Departments have also been slow to stop programmes when it has become clear they are not working. An example is GOV.UK Verify, which after years of development still does not work for around half of the people trying to use it.45 The Cabinet Office acknowledges government can learn from the private sector how to do this better. This will require a change in culture and a willingness not to regard such changes in direction as failures, when they are a response to additional information emerging over time.46 Skills and outsourcing
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees and CDDO is working to implement systemic changes by the end of 2022, focusing on funding, business, and governance models for digital transformation. CDDO will also support departments in prioritising automation opportunities and transforming critical public services.
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HM Treasury
19
Conclusion
Thirtieth Report - Challenges in implem…
Accepted
Ten years ago, government had little in-house digital capability and outsourced most technology programmes.47 The Cabinet Office blamed the failure of many programmes in the past on too much outsourcing of poorly understood services, and insufficient resourcing of the intelligent client function within departments.48 For example, NHS England did not …
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Ten years ago, government had little in-house digital capability and outsourced most technology programmes.47 The Cabinet Office blamed the failure of many programmes in the past on too much outsourcing of poorly understood services, and insufficient resourcing of the intelligent client function within departments.48 For example, NHS England did not believe it had the skills in-house to transform primary care services, but also did not know enough about those services to be able to set the supplier achievable performance standards. The supplier underestimated the scale of the task, and patient safety was potentially put at risk.49 The National Law Enforcement Data Service programme needed to manage multiple supplier contracts but did not take enough ownership of technical development work, and had limited ability to integrate the work and the way the suppliers needed to work together.50 Working with large suppliers is an important way to access the experienced delivery expertise which the Cabinet Office accepts it still does not have enough of.51
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Government response AI summary
The government accepted the recommendation to improve departments’ approach to IT operations, setting a Summer 2022 target for implementing an updated DDaT Functional Standard and Assessment Framework.
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HM Treasury