Cabinet Office to adopt civil service shared IT programme

The Cabinet Office has announced that it will make strides to implement a shared services model for IT services, similar to that seen elsewhere in the civil service, in a move it says will save taxpayers millions.

The Shared Services Strategy for Government scheme, which has been rolled out across the civil service to improve value for money when it comes to digital services, currently provides users access to standardised applications for human resources, procurement, finance and payroll via a central platform.

These common applications are backed up with cloud and automation technology, meaning that users can move from department to department and be faced with the same IT system. The government’s own statistics suggest that over half a million employees currently use the shared services, making up 90 per cent of all ministerial workers.

Similar programmes have received criticism in the past, however, for failing to achieve value for money through similar means, as well as further complicating legacy IT systems.

In May 2016, the National Audit Office said a plan to save £90 million by migrating back-office functions to two shared service centres actually drove up governmental costs. A report from the body found that the Cabinet Office “did not develop an integrated business case” for the strategy.

No specific figures for the costs involved have been published this time round, though the government’s own projects suggest “millions” will be saved over the next 10 years.

Matthew Coats, interim head of government shared services and chief operating officer at the Ministry of Justice, said: “This will be step change in shared services across the government, directly supporting civil servants in their roles, while also contributing significant savings to the public purse.

“By allowing civil servants to spend less time doing administration, they can spend more time delivering vital services to the public.”