Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 3
3
Accepted
Identify and address the problems and costs faced by users of Defra's unmodernised services.
Recommendation
Defra has not given enough attention to the impact of its poor digital services on its users. To users, legacy IT systems feel outdated or lack functionality and they are 6 Tackling Defra’s ageing digital services at higher risk of temporary crashes. Defra has recently upgraded its system that vets and farmers use to record bovine tuberculosis test results. Previously vets had to buy old laptops to be able to run the programme. Many legacy systems still rely heavily on paper forms or documents. Defra and its organisations handle around 14 million paper transactions each year. Defra intends to reduce its reliance on paper forms but is unable to say when this will happen. Despite the advantages of digital forms, there are barriers to increasing the use of digital-based applications and processes which Defra does not yet fully understand. For example, some customers prefer paper-based licenses, and Defra is working to understand and address the barriers to more of its customers using digital solutions. Defra does not measure the costs to its customers of its unmodernised digital services but is now attempting to include these in business cases for specific changes. Recommendation 3: In its Treasury Minute response, Defra should set out how it will identify the problems and costs faced by its service users as a result of unmodernised services, and how it is going to address each of them.
Government Response Summary
Defra agrees to identify user problems and costs by using best practice techniques like user research and service assessments, which will inform service roadmaps. It will initially focus on nine priority services from the CDDO’s Top 75 list, aiming for a 'great' standard by 2025.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented Defra is modernising its services and putting users at the heart of developing service improvements. Defra will use best practice techniques such as user research, business process mapping, service baselines and service assessments to identify problems and costs faced by users of its services (aligning with the methodology used by CDDO to assess the standard of digital services). These will inform agreed roadmaps for Defra’s services, which will set out planned service improvements from user, accessibility, and efficiency perspectives. Defra will focus initially on the nine Defra services in the CDDO’s Top 75 transactional digital services list, with the aim of getting these a ‘great’ standard by 2025 (in line with the corresponding commitment in the CDDO Roadmap). Defra will ensure that its next Spending Review bid continues to prioritise improvement of its digital services – both in continued development of existing priority services and in addressing other services not yet prioritised for improvement. Defra will continue to make sure that all services have clear service ownership, with service owners having appropriate training.