Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 22
22
Accepted
Continue engagement with CDDO to address process challenges and shape future digital government.
Recommendation
Digital change requires specific ways of investing, funding and procuring digital services and requires upskilling and capability-building to introduce and adapt new approaches. Processes which work for other programmes are not always well-suited for digital programmes. But government central functions have not made significant progress in understanding what makes digital programmes different from infrastructure or construction programmes or reflecting this in policies and procedures which departments are required to follow.55 We heard that the Infrastructure and Projects Authority now includes a digital expert on review teams and reviews digital projects differently from other types of project.56 Nevertheless, the civil service is still quite generalist.57 All central functions should continue to engage with CDDO to address process challenges and shape the future of digital government.58
Government Response Summary
The government accepts the recommendation and has set a target implementation date of February 2024. The CDDO is regularly engaging with commercial and operational functions and HM Treasury to address digital challenges, and plans to ask functions to share their digital reform strategies in 2023.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
5.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: February 2024 5.2 CDDO has an overall milestone that the barriers to digital transformation will be addressed by 2025. However, it recognises this is dependent on other parts of government, such as HM Treasury, the Commercial Function and the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA). Digital change involves levels of complexity, uncertainty and risk which are often unique to each specific programme due to legacy systems, existing ways of operation and the difficulties of integrating something new. 5.3 These differences should be reflected in business cases, funding and approvals processes, procurement of technology, audit and project review assurance and policy development. CDDO is regularly engaging with the Commercial and Operational Delivery Functions to discuss these challenges and options to address, as well as with HM Treasury. 5.4 This year (2023), CDDO plans to ask functions to share information on their current strategy and plans to achieve digital reform.