Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 26
26
Accepted
HMCTS and Ministry of Justice consistently fail to apply lessons from past programmes.
Conclusion
We asked the Ministry and HMCTS whether they have identified lessons from the programme they can take forward into other major projects. They acknowledged that there were several lessons that they have identified from the programme so far that they plan to take forward.53 However, the Ministry and HMCTS have similarly given us assurances that they have learnt lessons from both reform and other major programmes in the past. For example, in 2018, the Ministry told us that it had learnt lessons from delivering reform programmes to rehabilitation of offenders and its electronic monitoring system. The Ministry explained at the time that it considered that these programmes took too long, were over-complex and difficult.54 In particular, the Ministry’s timetable for delivering ambitious reforms to rehabilitation was too compressed which in turn created an unacceptable level of risk to delivery.55 The Ministry also asserted that the court reform programme would not have the same fate as its other large transformation programmes as the reforms were more modular which reduced interdependencies between projects and that a mistake or missed milestone would not threaten the rest of the programme.56 However, seven years into the programme, HMCTS and the Ministry do not seem to have taken lessons on board. For example, HMCTS has had to extend its timetable for a third time and to look again at its approach to rolling out common platform.57
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee's findings and states it has already learned lessons, with further activities planned as projects close. It is piloting a lesson learned platform which, following evaluation in autumn, is intended to launch department-wide in spring 2024 to ensure new projects factor in lessons.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
6.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation Recommendation implemented 6.2 The department has already learnt lessons through a number of processes including early adopter evaluations, outputs of maturity assessments and lessons from the closure of multiple projects. 6.3 The department is planning a series of lessons learnt activities as it approaches each individual programme closure, with a focus in particular on the Common Platform. 6.4 The department is currently piloting a lesson learned platform, the aim of which is to share lessons across all projects, particularly those major projects and programmes on the Government’s Major Projects Portfolio. The pilot will be evaluated in the autumn, and subject to its findings, the department intends to launch a lesson learned platform across the department and its agencies/arm’s length bodies in spring 2024. New projects will refer to this platform to ensure lessons are being factored in.