Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 17
17
Extracting data from aging IT systems is expensive, sometimes impossible, and it is costly to...
Conclusion
Extracting data from aging IT systems is expensive, sometimes impossible, and it is costly to combine data from different systems.36 As a result, comparable data is not readily available to the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury on the different types of delivery model the government is using, nor the amount of funding that flows through each type on an annual basis. Having these data would help the centre of government better understand and evaluate successful policy delivery and identify the costs and benefits of different delivery models.37 HM Treasury has committed to reviewing bids from departments to resolve legacy IT issues as part of the next Spending Review.38 Public appointments
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
5: PAC conclusion: Poor data and legacy IT are a barrier to effective oversight of its arm’s-length bodies. 5: PAC recommendation: HM Treasury should write to us as soon as possible after the Spending Review to outline how bids to resolve systemic legacy IT issues have been addressed as part of Spending Review 2021. 5.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Winter 2021 5.2 HM Treasury will write to the Committee setting out how the 2021 Spending Review process and decisions are addressing legacy IT issues. These decisions have been informed by work that the Cabinet Office’s Central Digital and Data Office and Government Security Group undertook with departments and HM Treasury spending teams to identify digital, data and technology challenges and areas to prioritise funding in the 2021 Spending Review. The government is investing £2.6 billion in cyber and legacy IT over the 2021 Spending Review period, with a particular emphasis on improving the government’s own cyber security. 14