Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 28
27th Report - Government’s relationship with digital technology suppliers
Published 6 Jun 2025
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee Government’s relationship with digital technology suppliers All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
Successful procurement programmes require departments to have digital commercial experts at senior level, and governance arrangements to ensure that senior leaders are equipped to understand the issues being raised and the options available to manage risks.47 DSIT told us that the January 2025 Blueprint envisaged every organisation having a digital CDIO or otherwise sitting on their most senior departmental committee and their executive committee, and also having a digitally appropriate non–executive director on their board.48 We noted that cultural change starts at the top, and we were concerned that government was not moving quickly enough to meet the pace of change the government needs to make. We asked the Cabinet Office and DSIT what they were doing to embed a culture that fully incorporates digital. The Cabinet Office told us that “we have to change the culture”. DSIT noted that the Blueprint identifies culture as one of a long list of changes that are required for improvement.49 45 Q 33 46 Qq 33–34 47 C&AG’s Report, para 2.13 48 Q 52 49 Qq 51–52, 75 18 3 Chapter 3: Spending and buying power Data on spending and the pipeline of supply and demand
From: Public Accounts Committee, 27th Report - Government’s relationship with digital technology suppliers (HC 640), 6 June 2025
Government response
Latest Treasury Minutes progress report to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Twenty-seventh Report of Session 2024-26
The government responded to the whole report on 4 June 2026 (deadline 6 August 2025).
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Twenty-seventh report from Session 2024-26
Published 18 September 2025.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government states that it "agrees with the Committee's recommendation" on each of the recommendations in the report, with most carrying a target implementation date of December 2025.
- On roles and responsibilities, it says the Digital Commercial Centre of Excellence (DCCoE) has been launched as a joint Cabinet Office and DSIT team and is "working to formalise the roles and responsibilities" between digital and commercial teams.
- On skills, it sets a three-phased approach for the Government Commercial Function: a first phase by September 2025, a second by March 2026, and a final phase "to be confirmed".
- On the Digital, Data and Technology Playbook, it says a team is working with GDS "to launch a publication in December 2025", bringing it up to date with current practices.
- On spending data, it says the GCF Digital & Data Team "will set out the process" to use commercial insights from data held across government, with "further detail" to be provided to the Committee in December.