Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 24
24
Accepted
Cross-departmental collaboration demonstrates significant potential for digital synergies and citizen benefits.
Conclusion
We asked CDDO its assessment of government’s approach to digitisation. CDDO told us it had been delighted with the collaboration it had received from government departments as part of putting together the digital change road map. It explained that, while there was still more to do, it was “considerably more optimistic now as we go forward”.51 CDDO pointed to what it saw as a huge opportunity for not just better use of public money, but a far better experience for citizens. We therefore asked CDDO whether departments’ approaches to working together were sufficient to allow them to take advantage of synergies between their work, including economies of scale and efficiencies. CDDO told us that cross-departmental working came in many forms, such as the chief technology officer forum where 30 senior staff discussed opportunities for sharing and consolidating systems. For example, it explained that a pilot project was considering grants, because many departments provided grants but used multiple systems for this and it thought there might be an opportunity to share and consolidate these.52 We asked how this work had helped departments bidding for funding for digitisation. CDDO explained that it had provided technical input into each of the major funding bids for legacy and other digital investment projects in the 2021 Spending Review.53
Government Response Summary
The government agrees the recommendation is implemented, detailing CDDO's ongoing progress in rolling out the legacy risk framework across multiple departments, assessing IT systems, and working with departments to establish remediation plans for 'red-rated' legacy systems under the 2025 Roadmap.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented. On 19 January 2023, CDDO updated the Committee Hearing on its progress which included establishing the legacy risk framework and rolling it out across 6 departments, assessing 105 systems. On 22 May 2023, CDDO provided a further update that it has continued rollout to 16 organisations, with 153 legacy IT assets listed in the register. Furthermore, it has kept abreast of legacy remediation programmes and has seen a number of remediation programmes reach key milestones. The 2025 Roadmap, Transforming for a Digital Future, requires support and intervention from business leaders in departments to successfully deliver. CDDO is working closely with departments on all commitments, including that all ‘red-rated’ legacy systems will have agreed remediation plans in place. To date CDDO has worked successfully with more than 21 departments on this endeavour.