Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 19
19
Ten years ago, government had little in-house digital capability and outsourced most technology programmes.47 The...
Conclusion
Ten years ago, government had little in-house digital capability and outsourced most technology programmes.47 The Cabinet Office blamed the failure of many programmes in the past on too much outsourcing of poorly understood services, and insufficient resourcing of the intelligent client function within departments.48 For example, NHS England did not believe it had the skills in-house to transform primary care services, but also did not know enough about those services to be able to set the supplier achievable performance standards. The supplier underestimated the scale of the task, and patient safety was potentially put at risk.49 The National Law Enforcement Data Service programme needed to manage multiple supplier contracts but did not take enough ownership of technical development work, and had limited ability to integrate the work and the way the suppliers needed to work together.50 Working with large suppliers is an important way to access the experienced delivery expertise which the Cabinet Office accepts it still does not have enough of.51
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
5: PAC conclusion: Departments have failed to develop a modern professional approach to IT operations needed to support business change and transformation and have created an over-reliance on outsourcing. 5: PAC recommendation: The Central Digital and Data Office should set out what departments need to put in place to improve the maturity of departments’ approach to IT operations and change including: • what the Intelligent Client Function should do; • what influence Digital specialist leaders should have; • who should be accountable and responsible for contracting; and • the assurance mechanisms at the beginning and throughout the lifecycle. 5.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Summer 2022 5.2 Central government is working to support departments to act as ‘intelligent clients’ by increasing capability, and also by providing common frameworks and memoranda of understanding (MOUs) which offer government organisations access to external expertise more easily. CDDO uses the Technology Code of Practice as a standard in the spend controls process, and it recently updated the commercial guidance (point 11) to include more information on departmental purchasing strategies. This includes more specific guidance on choosing when to build and when to buy technology. CDDO is also working on more detailed guidance on this topic. The DDaT and Commercial functions have created the DDaT Playbook to provide government policy and clear guidance on how to approach commercial delivery and procurement of digital products and services whilst maximising value for money. 5.3 CDDO will support departments to improve both their overall digital maturity and approach to IT operations and technology change through the publication of an updated DDaT Functional Standard and an accompanying DDaT Assessment Framework. The Standard will set out clear best practice for how all digital, data and technology work and activities should be conducted across government. The associated Assessment Framework will enable departments to evaluate their maturity against the Standard, and the results of these assessments will be reviewed and discussed as part of CDDO’s wider performance and maturity framework and processes.