Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 26
26
Accepted
Earlier in its transformation programme, HMPPS outsourced the role of systems and services integrator to...
Recommendation
Earlier in its transformation programme, HMPPS outsourced the role of systems and services integrator to Capita, which involved pulling together suppliers’ work to deliver an end-to-end tagging service.48 In 2017, we examined earlier progress in the programme. We found that this arrangement failed as, in part, the Ministry did not have sufficient transparency of the services being delivered in other parts of the programme. We recommended that the Ministry should ensure that it puts the right skills in place to properly oversee future projects from their outset and keeps them there, particularly those being delivered by private contractors.49 In its response to our report, the Department said it was building a centralised model for its Project Delivery staff which would ensure that it has skilled resources in place for its priority projects.50 Following a dispute with Capita and financial settlement, HMPPS took on the integrator role when it restarted 43 C&AG’s report, para 4.16 44 Qq 22, 73; C&AG’s report, Figure 17 45 Q 88 46 C&AG’s report, paras 4.19 and 4.21 47 Q 83 48 Comptroller and Auditor General, The new generation electronic monitoring programme, Session 2017–2019, HC 242, 12 July 2017, para 10 49 Committee of Public Accounts, Offender-monitoring tags, Fifteenth Report of Session 2017–19, 24 January 2018, HC 458, para 2. 50 HM Treasury, Treasury Minutes, Government Response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Twelfth to the Nineteenth reports from Session 2017–19, March 2018 Transforming electronic monitoring services 17 its transformation programme in 2017. The NAO found that there were shortcomings in HMPPS’s performance as integrator and it did not intervene early enough to resolve cross- supplier integration issues.51
Government Response Summary
The government states that project risks are managed according to the EM Portfolio Risk Management Strategy and that the procurement of new contracts is being run in compliance with the government standard, The Sourcing Playbook.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
6.2 Project risks are managed in accordance with the EM Portfolio Risk Management Strategy (RMS). The RMS is based on the department’s policy on risk management and has been drafted in accordance with the principles outlined within the HM Treasury ‘Orange Book’ on the Management of Risk – Principles and Concepts. 6.3 The procurement of new contracts is being run in compliance with the government standard, The Sourcing Playbook (last updated May 2021). 6.4 Once new contracts have been awarded (in summer 2023) suppliers will be managed by the EM contract management team, who have been involved in the design and procurement of the future service as key stakeholders. The contract management team have worked with the wider EM Future Service team to: • embed market insight and wider EM lessons learned into the design of the service; • advise on, and support the development of the future service performance regime and collaboration approach; and • advise, and support the articulation of the integrator role and the detailed definition of the roles and responsibilities of the two new suppliers, as well as that of the agency, in the Future Service design. 6.5 This knowledge and understanding will enable the team to effectively manage the new contracts from the outset. 6.6 The agency will write to the committee in August 2023, once new contracts have been awarded.