Corporate report

Technology Sourcing Programme: Accounting Officer's assessment summary

Published 30 March 2021

Technology Sourcing Programme (TSP)

It is normal practice for Accounting Officers to scrutinise significant policy proposals or plans of major projects, and then assess whether they measure up to the standards set out in Managing Public Money. From April 2017, the government has committed to make a summary of the key points from these assessments available to Parliament when an accounting officer has agreed an assessment of projects within the Government’s Major Projects Portfolio.

Background and context

HMRC has one of the largest and most complex IT estates in Europe with over 600 systems, 800 terabytes of data, 1,000 IT changes a month and a 24/7 IT operation. It serves 45 million citizens and more than 5 million business taxpayers.

HMRC faces a number of contract expiries combined with the need to re-balance control over its digital and technology capability to ensure HMRC can respond quickly and effectively to changing requirements and priorities.

This is a multi-year programme to transform how HMRC delivers and uses IT. The programme is in place to design and deliver the safe disaggregation, exit and transition of HMRC’s major IT contracts and stand-up new arrangements to deliver both IT run and change activity. All IT spend is under review and in scope.

The programme will develop and implement a new technology supply chain model, protect live services, enable the department to remediate and prevent technical debt, reduce risk in our IT estate, improve cost effectiveness, provide flexibility and establish partnerships with suppliers to deliver innovation.

Regularity

HMRC has invested in a trained commercial and legal team, supported by external legal advisers, all with expertise in government procurement regulations. They will work together to design and implement procurement strategies and present to the governance boards, both within HMRC and at Cabinet Office level, compliant routes to market.

This will include carrying out robust market engagement, selection of appropriate procedures, managing incumbent advantage and implementing rigorous evaluation of bids. Where an element of risk exists due to technical, inherited contractual or other reason these risks will be clearly called out and mitigations put in place.

Propriety

The programme has established a programme board as the key decision-making authority, attended by key stakeholders from within HMRC. In addition to HMRC, in line with HM Treasury (HMT) recommendation, representatives from HMT, the Infrastructure and Projects Authority and the Government Digital Service have been invited to join the steering committee, which meets monthly.

The programme is subject to the central oversight applying to Government Major Projects Portfolio projects.

Value for money

The programme follows The Green Book methodology including HMT’s 5-case model. This involves developing a longlist of options and conducting an appraisal to draw-up a shortlist of options before completing a full economic appraisal of the shortlisted options. Value for Money is one of the critical success factors within the Programme Business Case approved by the Major Projects Review Group (MPRG).

The financial model has been developed in line with the Outsourcing Playbook guidance for cost modelling and with Aqua Book guidance on governance and quality assurance.

Financial rigour and spend control is ensured via HMRC’s Change, Investment and Design Committee and MPRG. An appropriate commercial and digital and technology spend control pipeline for TSP has been produced and shared with Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA), HMT, Government Digital Service and Cabinet Office.

All procurement contracts awarded will be subject to competitive tendering as required by HMRC procurement rules. The costs and benefits of the programme will be measured and checked against the expectations that will be set out in each Outline Business Case.

The TSP will successfully exit existing, and procure new, IT contracts. Supplier contracts will be regularly re-competed with greater disaggregation, reducing risk of incumbent advantage, resulting in an improved supply chain with the potential for many new suppliers to support HMRC.

Feasibility

A recent IPA Programme Assurance Review resulted in an Amber Delivery Confidence rating.

TSP is aligned to the Government Transformation Strategy by supporting the delivery of a world class digital services supply chain, allowing for better and more effective workplace tools and ensuring that future transformation of services can be delivered in an agile and cost-effective way.

The programme is cognizant of, and aligned to, interdependencies, including the HMRC Securing Our Technical Future Programme, and the HMRC 2020 to 2021 and Comprehensive Spending Review 21 funding bids.

Conclusion

As the Accounting Officer for HMRC I have considered the Technology Sourcing Programme and assessed the proposal as value for money and deliverable. Consequently, I have approved it as of 15 December 2020. I have prepared this summary to set out the key points which informed my decision.

If any of these factors change materially during the lifetime of this programme, I undertake to prepare a revised summary, setting out my assessment of them. This summary will be published on the government’s website (GOV.UK). Copies will be deposited in the Library of the House of Commons and sent to the Comptroller and Auditor General and Treasury Officer of Accounts.

Accounting Officer’s name: Jim Harra, Chief Executive HM Revenue and Customs.

Jim Harra, signed 15 December 2020