Recommendation 4

The Department is struggling to deliver its largest, most transformational digital programmes. The Infrastructure and Projects Authority’s (IPA’s) most recent public reporting from March 2022 shows three of the Department’s major digital programmes have significant issues (‘amber’) and two are unachievable (‘red’). These are the Department’s most complex and transformational digital programmes, which it needs to get right if its strategy is to succeed. The Department accepts its performance up to now is worrying and that it needs to up-skill staff and think differently about processes and risk. In particular, the Department wants a more diverse mix of experience in its digital project delivery teams. By bringing in different skills and ways of thinking from industry, it hopes to become more confident at working in agile ways more appropriate to developing software. Although the Department recently intervened to pause its now red-rated Next Generation Core Networks programme, it still needs to get quicker at stopping and improving failing digital programmes. The Department has made some progress on the basics such as rolling out laptops and video conferencing in response to COVID-19. However, we are concerned by the continued lack of improvement in IPA assessments of the Department’s major digital programmes. Recommendations: • a) In its update to us in six months, the Department should also explain the actions it has taken to improve its performance in delivering major digital programmes. • b) When the Infrastructure and Projects Authority publishes its Annual Report in 2023, the Department should provide us with the latest delivery confidence ratings for its digital major programmes and explain how and why they have changed.