Recommendation 13

Although HM Treasury rejected cluster bids for funding, it approved a funding envelope of £300 million to cover the period up to 2024–25. This was to support these clusters to deliver the strategy and to address the risk that departments could be left with unstable and unsupported systems in the interim.21 The Cabinet Office told us that it considered these bids were ambitious, both in terms of the amount of central funding that could be allocated and the length of time it would take to go through the process. Access to this funding was contingent on the approval of cluster business cases by the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury, which clusters obtained in autumn 2022.22 12 Committee of Public Accounts, Shared service centres, Twentieth Report of Session 2016–17, HC 297, October 2016 13 C&AG’s Report, para 2.5 14 Committee of Public Accounts, Shared service centres, Twentieth Report of Session 2016–17, HC 297, October 2016 15 Q 60 16 C&AG’s Report, para 15 17 Q 62; C&AG’s Report, para 3.4 18 C&AG’s Report, para 3.4 19 Q 60 20 Qq 60–61 21 Q 62; C&AG’s Report, para 19 22 Q 62; C&AG’s Report, para 3.5 Government Shared Services 11