Recommendation 5

The governance structure of UKSV within Cabinet Office is a barrier to transformation. UKSV’s chief executive and the government chief security officer have low levels of delegated spending authority which means they require approval from the Cabinet Office Approvals Board for any spending over £500,000. That Board has repeatedly refused to give spending approval for the £40 million vetting transformation business case. UKSV’s Chief Executive cited governance around investment and the change agenda as problematic in replacing the legacy system, and three reviews of the transformation programme included governance in their array of concerns about the deliverability of the programme. The Cabinet Office acknowledges that its cautious approach is delaying the much needed and widely supported transformation programme but says that it is better to be cautious than to spend unwisely. Recommendation 5: The Cabinet Office should urgently review UKSV’s governance structures to assess whether they provide the correct balance of challenge and support to enable UKSV to achieve the much-needed security vetting transformation programme. It should summarise the findings of this review in its Treasury Minute response.