The Cabinet Office has given clusters discretion over their delivery models. This has led to several different approaches to clusters’ implementation of shared services.31 Written evidence we received from the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) noted that civil servants impacted by the strategy have been consulted to varying degrees depending on the cluster their department is assigned to. Some clusters are also providing shared services through outsourcing, while others deliver their back-office operations in-house. Given Capita’s poor performance in administering Civil Service Pensions, the PCS has expressed concern over the Synergy cluster’s decision to award an outsourcing contract for providing HR and payroll services to over 250,000 civil servants to the provider, which is reportedly valued at £700 million.32