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Select Committee · Public Accounts Committee

Digital transformation in government: addressing barriers to efficiency

Status: Closed Opened: 29 Mar 2023 Closed: 18 Nov 2023 14 recommendations 11 conclusions 1 report

One of government’s main challenges is achieving efficiency savings. The civil service employs over half a million people in the UK and runs diverse operations and services that range from collecting taxes and processing benefits claims to, for example, granting rod fishing licences. In 2020-21, central government departments expected to spend £456 billion on these …

Clear

Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Seventieth Report - Digital transformation in government: a… HC 1229 13 Sep 2023 25 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

2 items
8 Conclusion Seventieth Report - Digital transformat… Deferred

Senior government decision-makers lack sufficient digital experience hindering effective communication.

Only a small proportion of senior decision-makers in government have first-hand experience of digital business and senior digital leaders in departments struggle to communicate their messages effectively because their wider leadership teams lack sufficient knowledge of digital issues.13 The continued support of departments at permanent secretary level is essential for …

Government response. The government agrees with the Committee's observation and will provide an outline of how this will be implemented by December 2023. The CDDO is working with the Permanent Secretary level Digital and Data Board to understand how this commitment can …
HM Treasury
9 Recommendation Seventieth Report - Digital transformat… Deferred

Permanent secretaries' appointment letters omit responsibilities for improving government digital services.

We were also surprised to see that the standard appointment letter for permanent secretaries makes no mention of their responsibilities for improving digital services, despite including others such as managing public money. Including reference to digital responsibilities would make clear the importance of the area.16 For example, it would mean …

Government response. The government agrees with the recommendation to include digital responsibilities in permanent secretary appointment letters. It will provide an outline of how this will be implemented by December 2023, with a target implementation date of June 2025.
HM Treasury

Oral evidence sessions

1 session
Date Witnesses
22 May 2023 Alex Chisholm · Cabinet Office, Megan Lee Devlin · Cabinet Office, Paul Willmott · Cabinet Office View ↗

Correspondence

2 letters
DateDirectionTitle
11 Sep 2023 — Correspondence from Paul Lincoln CB OBE VR, Second Permanent Secretary, Ministr…
19 Jun 2023 — Correspondence from Alex Chisholm, Civil Service Chief Operating Officer and Ca…