Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Seventieth Report - Digital transformation in government: addressing the barriers to efficiency
Public Accounts Committee
HC 1229
Published 13 September 2023
Recommendations
9
Deferred
Permanent secretaries' appointment letters omit responsibilities for improving government digital services.
Recommendation
We were also surprised to see that the standard appointment letter for permanent secretaries makes no mention of their responsibilities for improving digital services, despite including others such as managing public money. Including reference to digital responsibilities would make clear …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the recommendation to include digital responsibilities in permanent secretary appointment letters. It will provide an outline of how this will be implemented by December 2023, with a target implementation date of June 2025.
HM Treasury
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Conclusions (1)
8
Conclusion
Deferred
Only a small proportion of senior decision-makers in government have first-hand experience of digital business and senior digital leaders in departments struggle to communicate their messages effectively because their wider leadership teams lack sufficient knowledge of digital issues.13 The continued support of departments at permanent secretary level is essential for …
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the Committee's observation and will provide an outline of how this will be implemented by December 2023. The CDDO is working with the Permanent Secretary level Digital and Data Board to understand how this commitment can be adopted across government.