Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 2
2
Accepted
The Cabinet Office’s efforts to update its property database have been subject to a series...
Recommendation
The Cabinet Office’s efforts to update its property database have been subject to a series of unnecessary delays and setbacks. The Cabinet Office announced its new property database in 2018, with an anticipated launch date in 2021. The Cabinet Office determined that an off-the-shelf system would not be capable of receiving data from 160 different bodies across government. It therefore commissioned the development of a bespoke system called inSite. Citing staffing problems, the contractor, Landmark Solution, did not complete the inSite project, even when granted an extension. The Cabinet Office terminated the contract in July 2022 but has not yet appointed a new contractor. The Cabinet Office could not tell us when the new system will be up and running or how much it will cost. Recommendation 2: The Cabinet Office should analyse why the inSite programme has failed to meet its goals and set out what it has done since to ensure that these mistakes are not repeated in future procurement exercises.
Government Response Summary
An analysis has been conducted and actions have been taken forward to the current procurement, so that the delivery will be supported with in-house technology expertise and will be in a phased manner.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented An analysis has been conducted and actions have been taken forward to the current procurement. As a result, the delivery will be supported with in-house technology expertise and will be in a phased manner. The technology expertise for this will come from Cabinet Office Digital. The programme board composition has also been revised to be a focussed decision-making authority with enhanced technical capability.