Challenges in implementing digital change
Public Accounts Committee
Closed
Inquiry
Government plans to transform public services are increasingly led by digitally-enabled business change, and it is essential that public bodies deliver high quality digital services in a time when our way of life is increasingly digital. But a recent NAO report found that in “25 years of government strategies and …
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10
Recommendations
10
Conclusions
1
Report
1
Oral session
1
Event
Activity timeline 3 events
1 Mar
2022
2022
10 Dec
2021
2021
Report published
23 Sep
2021
2021
Oral evidence
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
23 Sep 2021
View on parliament.uk
Challenges in implementing digital change
Alex Chisholm · Cabinet Office
Angela MacDonald · HMRC
Joanna Davinson · Cabinet Office
Tom Read · Government Digital Service
Reports 1 report · click to expand
| Title | HC No. | Published | Items | Response |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thirtieth Report - Challenges in implementing digital change | HC 637 | 10 Dec 2021 | 20 | Responded |
Recommendations & Conclusions
10 results
2
Recommendation
Not Addressed
Thirtieth Report - Challenges in i…
There is no clear plan to replace or modernise legacy systems and data that are...
There is no clear plan to replace or modernise legacy systems and data that are critical to service provision but are often old, unsupportable, vulnerable and a constraint on transformation. Legacy systems, some of which date back to the 1970s, …
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Government Response
Despite stating agreement with the recommendation to map and prioritise legacy IT systems and providing a target implementation date of January 2023, the government's subsequent explanation discusses environmental targets and the Environment Act 2021, which is entirely unrelated to the committee's recommendation.
HM Treasury
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3
Recommendation
Not Addressed
Thirtieth Report - Challenges in i…
Departments have failed to understand the difference between improving what currently exists and real digital...
Departments have failed to understand the difference between improving what currently exists and real digital transformation, meaning that they have missed opportunities to move to modern, efficient ways of working. The Cabinet Office concedes that too often operations and services …
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Government Response
The government's response for this item quotes a different PAC conclusion regarding skills shortages, and does not address the committee's recommendation for a structured approach to distinguish between incremental and transformational digital changes.
HM Treasury
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4
Recommendation
Not Addressed
Thirtieth Report - Challenges in i…
Digital programmes often fail to have their own single programme office to support the programme...
Digital programmes often fail to have their own single programme office to support the programme director to align all aspects throughout the lifetime of the programme, including integration of legacy and future systems. Although the Cabinet Office has started to …
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Government Response
The government's response quotes a different PAC conclusion regarding departments struggling to track benefits and costs, completely failing to address the recommendation for the Cabinet Office to develop guidance on legacy integration and mandate design/data controls.
HM Treasury
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5
Recommendation
Not Addressed
Thirtieth Report - Challenges in i…
Departments have failed to develop a modern professional approach to IT operations needed to support...
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. Departmental IT functions are often not structured or funded in a way that allows …
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Government Response
The government's response quotes a different PAC conclusion about government efficiency drives, and does not address the recommendation for the Central Digital and Data Office to outline improvements for departments' IT operations and change maturity.
HM Treasury
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6
Recommendation
Not Addressed
Thirtieth Report - Challenges in i…
There is a large gap between the demand for and supply of the digital specialists...
There is a large gap between the demand for and supply of the digital specialists that government needs, and it is hard to get the right balance of in-house and outsourced skills. Government has been excessively reliant on outsourcing and …
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Government Response
The government's response did not address the recommendation for the Central Digital and Data Office to report on its capability strategy and progress metrics, instead restating a previous PAC conclusion.
HM Treasury
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1
Conclusion
Not Addressed
Thirtieth Report - Challenges in i…
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence...
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Cabinet Office and HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) on the challenges in implementing digital change in government.1
Government Response
The government's response quotes a different PAC conclusion about efficiency drives and cost shunting, and does not address the committee's introductory statement about the evidence session on digital change challenges.
HM Treasury
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7
Conclusion
Not Addressed
Thirtieth Report - Challenges in i…
Many of the systems government use are not really geared up to modern technology and...
Many of the systems government use are not really geared up to modern technology and some date back to the 1970s.14 The Cabinet Office told us that government is a difficult environment for digital projects, partly because these previous systems …
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Government Response
The government's response directly addresses PAC recommendation #2 (regarding mapping and prioritising legacy IT systems) by agreeing, setting a target date of December 2022, detailing a £2.6 billion investment, and outlining plans for a common methodology for identifying legacy risk and remediation, which is not a direct response to conclusion #7.
HM Treasury
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10
Conclusion
Not Addressed
Thirtieth Report - Challenges in i…
The Cabinet Office concedes that too often operations and services fail to recognise the fundamental...
The Cabinet Office concedes that too often operations and services fail to recognise the fundamental inefficiencies of legacy systems and the data they contain.26 The National Audit Office reported that government has been trying to improve its digital performance for …
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Government Response
The government's response directly addresses PAC recommendation #2 (regarding mapping and prioritising legacy IT systems) by agreeing, setting a target date of December 2022, detailing a £2.6 billion investment, and outlining plans for a common methodology for identifying legacy risk and remediation, which is not a direct response to conclusion #10.
HM Treasury
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17
Conclusion
Not Addressed
Thirtieth Report - Challenges in i…
Government accepts that it is important to have deep digital, data and technology expertise preserved...
Government accepts that it is important to have deep digital, data and technology expertise preserved within departments. Government has excessively outsourced programmes and has very thinly resourced the internal client function capability within departments. That has been a problem and …
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Government Response
The government's response for this item addresses a different recommendation (PAC recommendation 5) regarding the DDaT Office setting out improvements for IT operations, rather than the provided conclusion on excessive outsourcing and thinly resourced internal capability.
HM Treasury
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20
Conclusion
Not Addressed
Thirtieth Report - Challenges in i…
The Cabinet Office accepted that government still has a capability problem and is not as...
The Cabinet Office accepted that government still has a capability problem and is not as sophisticated as it needs to be.52 There are not yet enough people with the depth 41 Qq 12, 73 42 Q 4, 73 43 Qq …
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Government Response
The government's response addresses PAC recommendation #6 (regarding measuring progress against the DDaT Capability strategy) by agreeing to report metrics within six months, and outlining initiatives such as a 'single front door' for recruitment and a new digital training academy, which is not a direct response to conclusion #20.
HM Treasury
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