11 Accepted

Government has developed several systems to meet new requirements, such as for checking and processing...

Recommendation
Government has developed several systems to meet new requirements, such as for checking and processing applications under the EU Settlement Scheme. However, the deadline for EU Exit and Government decisions on the timetable for withdrawing the rights previously exercised by EU nationals meant that these systems all had to be in place by a fixed deadline. Government designed and built these systems to meet own their specific, narrow purposes so they could deliver them on time.30 This represents another missed opportunity to think further ahead about how these systems and their associated data flows could be more widely joined-up across government.
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the recommendation to develop more joined-up systems, setting an implementation target of end-December 2022. It outlines plans for wholesale digital transformation led by CDDO, including establishing funding and governance models, prioritising automation opportunities, and identifying critical services for transformation.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government Accepted
3.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: end of December 2022 3.2 Wholesale digital transformation in departments will require significant, systemic change in government to remove institutional barriers and create the conditions for successful investment and delivery. CDDO is working with HM Treasury, the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA), and colleagues across government to drive this change, by ensuring the funding, business and governance models are in place to support and incentivise modern, efficient digital product-centric, services and transformation. These systemic reforms will create a foundation and environment which facilitates investment in technologies, such as automation, which can be developed and utilised to enable both incremental and wholesale digital transformation to be realised. The Automation Blueprints, developed by the Government Automation Taskforce (GAT) in 2020, identified up to £1.4 billion of potential automation-related departmental opportunities across government over three years. GAT has now been incorporated into CDDO, and CDDO is working to support departments to prioritise these automation and transformation opportunities. 3.3 CDDO proposes to work with partners across government to transform critical services in order to drive excellence in user experience and efficient processes that reduce costs. It will work up an initial list of prioritised public services and civil servant journeys requiring transformation. CDDO and GDS will then offer targeted interventions depending on the type and scale of improvements needed. This might include identifying opportunities for automation, recommending and unblocking improvements and supporting funding of high value opportunities.
Addressee Bodies
HM Treasury
Timeline
Recommendation age 4.6 yrs
Report published 10 Dec 2021