The UK Civil Service has faced significant challenges amid the coronavirus pandemic, EU Exit preparations, and the evolving landscape of new technologies. The Digital, Data, and Technology (DDaT) function is crucial in leveraging technology to enhance citizen services, with the government aspiring to have the best digital services globally.

The report provides background information on the Digital Economy Council’s involvement in advising the Cabinet Office and DCMS on organizing the DDaT function. The focus is on central government, but the insights may be applicable to broader public sector organizations. The report is based on inputs from council members, reviews of past documents, interviews with senior leaders, and feedback from experts in both government and industry.

The current status of the DDaT function highlights achievements, such as the creation of cross-government services like GOV.UK, Notify, and Pay, as well as advancements in digital delivery capabilities across various government departments. Notable progress includes the development of technical and policy guidance and the migration of legacy platforms to Cloud-based infrastructures.

Despite successes, the report identifies seven barriers hindering the government’s ambition to have the best digital services.

The report identifies several challenges in the digital transformation of government services:

1. Uncertain Product Delivery Quality: Numerous projects have failed due to a lack of adherence to global best practices in product development, including clear technical ownership, iterative feature development, and ongoing maintenance. Examples include the ineffective identity service and a citizen visit booking system that deteriorated after initial success.
2. Unaddressed Legacy Systems and Technical Debt: Outdated legacy systems pose challenges such as high maintenance costs, cybersecurity risks, and an inability to implement new functionality. Almost half of the government’s IT spending is dedicated to maintaining legacy systems, with an estimated risk of £13-22 billion over five years.
3. Weak Operational Performance Monitoring: A lack of routine operational performance reviews across government departments hampers the identification of issues and corrective actions. The performance management system by the Government Digital Service (GDS) has become obsolete, with only 12% of services providing updates.
4. Failure to Leverage Scale: Departments struggle with duplication in procurement practices, an inability to share best practices, and inconsistencies in technical standards.
5. Missed Opportunities in Leveraging Government-Held Data Sets: Despite collecting large datasets, many government departments fail to use this data effectively for decision-making. The report highlights the discrepancy between data collection and actual utilization.
6. Low Technical Fluency in Senior Civil Service Leadership: Senior leaders lack digital expertise, hindering effective oversight of digital functions, project timelines, and costs.
7. Confusion Over the Role of Central Functions: The Government Digital Service (GDS) has undergone changes, and there is confusion about its central mission. Departments express low confidence in GDS, reflecting a need for a refocused approach.

The report provides eight recommendations to enhance the UK Government’s digital transformation efforts:

1. Put the Citizen at the Center: Establish mechanisms ensuring citizen needs guide design decisions, drawing inspiration from successful practices in leading organizations like Amazon.
2. Strengthen Department Accountability: Emphasize accountability of individual government departments and Permanent Secretaries for technology delivery, supported by a central organization focused on setting standards and ensuring interoperability.
3. Appoint a Government Chief Digital Officer (GCDO): Hire a senior GCDO at Permanent Secretary level to oversee digital transformation efforts and lead the Digital, Data, and Technology (DDaT) function.
4. Re-focus and Strengthen the Center: Enhance the capability of the central function within the Cabinet Office, focusing on critical cross-government services, planning, budgeting, technical standards, leadership, talent transfer, and cost-saving opportunities.
5. Create Clear Investment Swim Lanes: Improve oversight of technology spending during the Comprehensive Spending Review process, ensuring effective allocation of funds and addressing legacy debt.
6. Establish a Quarterly Business Review Process: Implement a regular inspection mechanism led by a central team to review major departmental performance on operational metrics and project delivery.
7. Invest in Technical Fluency: Develop training programs to enhance the technical fluency of senior civil service leadership, ensuring effective oversight of digital functions.
8. Create a Government Data Application Centre of Excellence: Establish a central team, under the GCDO, to develop best practices and guidelines for leveraging government-held data sets, focusing on mapping data locations and building technical standards.

These recommendations, if collectively adopted, are believed to align with the government’s ambition to make UK Government digital services the best globally. The report underscores the need for expert, fully employed individuals in critical roles and emphasizes caution in relying heavily on contractors for core design decisions.