Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 23
23
Senior responsible owners (SROs) have responsibility for ensuring a programme meets its objectives.
Conclusion
Senior responsible owners (SROs) have responsibility for ensuring a programme meets its objectives. SROs oversee governance of programmes and steer them through key decision points, assisted by a delivery team. The NAO’s analysis showed that the median time in post for an SRO was 22 months, against median programme length of 77 months, reflecting the career path requirements of the senior officers who fill most SRO roles. A recent departmental survey found that many SROs did not feel empowered to carry out their roles, while some felt least competent in areas important to the effective management of suppliers.54 We asked the Department what it is doing to ensure that the role of SRO becomes an important part of the CV for military officers. The Department claims it has a good record of putting SROs through Major Projects Leadership Academy 49 C&AG’s report, para 17 and Figure 7 50 C&AG’s report, paras 4.6–4.7 51 Qq 83–84 52 Qq 85–86 53 Q 103 54 C&AG’s report, para 4.11 Improving the performance of major defence equipment contracts 17 training,55 but some of its own survey respondents reported difficulty in accessing it.56 The Department was non-committal on the actions it plans to take, but said that it is looking at personnel policy to ensure project and programme delivery are recognised as military trades in their own right. It also aspires to ensure that SROs spend at least 50% of their time on programmes and said it has experience of some personnel staying on programmes for longer than a traditional military appointment (‘double touring’).57 We also asked whether, for military SROs, the Department had thought about moving towards a model whereby the SRO stays in post throughout the term of a particular contract, and promotion is dependent on the successful delivery of that contract. The Department said it had experience of “double-touring” people to get longer terms in office, and that there were examples where it would be happy to see military SROs promoted ‘in
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Spring 2022 5.2 The department acknowledges that the there is a highly competitive UK market for project delivery skills ranging from experienced project managers, project controls, commercial, and engineers and this is compounded by national shortages and a large UK infrastructure portfolio of work where both public and private sector organisations are in competition for this talent. Noting these challenges, the department has given some freedoms to the professional delivery organisations such as DE&S and the Submarine Delivery Agency (SDA) to help them compete in a demanding UK market for these highly sought-after skills. 5.3 Regarding Project and Contract leadership skills the department will build on its successful participation in the cross-government Cabinet Office sponsored Major Project Leadership Academy and Cabinet Office Contract Management training programme and its ongoing work to recruit and retain expert and specialist resource. 5.4 The department recognises the need to balance time in post for SROs and the need to match leadership with the phase of the project. The department is fully committed to Cabinet Office ambition of ensuring SROs spend at least 50% of their time on their GMPP projects and are working across Defence to increase capacity. The department’s Project Delivery function is introducing specific talent and career management for MOD SROs, across both military and civilian postings, to ensure that the right SRO is in place for the right amount of time. The department is investigating a range of options to reduce SRO turnover, including minimum tour lengths aligned to the delivery of key project milestones, rank-range postings, fixed term contracts, retention allowances and the creation of a talent pool.