The government is just over four years into its latest Shared Services Strategy. Since the Cabinet Office refreshed it in 2021, introducing the ‘cluster’ delivery model, there has been a step change in progress. The ‘Defence’ and ‘Overseas’ clusters have begun to implement new systems. The departments in the ‘Matrix’, ‘Synergy’ and ‘Unity’ clusters have obtained business case approval, which will allow them to access funding for their shared services plans. Common data standards have been agreed and are currently being validated.7