Value for Money
Digital transformation in government: addressing the barriers to efficiency
Published 10 March 2023
9 recommendations
Cabinet Office, Cross-government
Commercial and financial managementDigital transformationDigital, data and technologyEfficiency and savingsLegacy systems
nao.org.uk
This report assesses how government is trying to address the underlying issues that make digital transformation so difficult to achieve.
Recommendations (9)
Source: NAO Recommendations Tracker · PAC follow-up below
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
Rec 1
Accepted
Work in Progress
CDDO should b) increase its capability-building through formal training and mentoring support to help senior non-specialist leaders develop their understanding of government's operating environment and the constraints posed by legacy data and systems
Cabinet Office
Rec 2
Accepted
Work in Progress
CDDO should c) continue to push for central reforms in the way digital change is justified, funded and procured and work with policymakers, who often do not have the digital skills to understand how digital services work, to improve policy-making in this area
Cabinet Office
Rec 3
Accepted
Implemented
CDDO should d) work with HM Treasury to address the balance between capital and resource in departments' spending requirements
Cabinet Office
Rec 4
Accepted
Work in Progress
Departments should g) ensure that membership of their most senior decision-making board includes at least one senior digital leader
Cabinet Office
Rec 5
Accepted
Implemented
CDDO should e) review what departments can realistically achieve in terms of closing their skills gap and keep the scope of Roadmap activities under continuous review to ensure it matches available resources, accepting that prioritisation may be necessary
Cabinet Office
Rec 6
Accepted
Work in Progress
Departments should f) appoint at least one non-executive director with digital, data and technology expertise
Cabinet Office
Rec 7
Accepted
Work in Progress
Departments should i) establish an approach to stop new services being built on the existing costly and inefficient legacy foundations
Cabinet Office
Rec 8
Accepted
Work in Progress
Departments should h) appoint senior service owners for all major services with accountability for the full end to end service, decision making authority to deliver all aspects, and responsibility for developing operating and continually improving the service
Cabinet Office
Rec 9
Accepted
Work in Progress
CDDO should a) continue to enlist proactive engagement and involvement from permanent secretaries in securing the support of senior leaders beyond the digital function
Parliamentary Committee Follow-Up
The Public Accounts Committee examined this NAO report and published its own recommendations. The government responds to PAC recommendations via Treasury Minutes.
Seventieth Report - Digital transformation in government: addressing the barriers to efficiency
Public Accounts Committee
· 13 September 2023
· 18 recommendations