Transparency data

Restart Scheme: SRO appointment letter

Updated 10 November 2023

Peter Schofield CB
Permanent Secretary
Department for Work and Pensions
Caxton House
Tothill Street
SW1H 9DA

pso@dwp.gsi.gov.uk

www.gov.uk/dwp

Sent electronically

To:	Angus Gray, Senior Responsible Owner for the Restart Scheme
Date:	July 2021
From:	Peter Schofield CB, Permanent Secretary, Department for Work and Pensions Nick Smallwood, Chief Executive Officer, Infrastructure and Projects Authority

Appointment as Senior Responsible Owner for the Restart Scheme

Further to our discussion, we are writing to confirm your appointment as Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) of the Restart Scheme, which took effect from 1 June 2021. You are directly accountable to the DWP Accounting Officer, under the oversight of the Minister for Employment.

This will be a part-time role, planned to take 50% of your working time. You will carry out this role alongside your other responsibilities and must ensure that you allocate sufficient time to enable the effective delivery of the role and execute your responsibilities fully, as set out in IPA guidance on the role of the senior responsible owner. This will be periodically reviewed to ensure that an appropriate balance is maintained across your portfolio of activities.

As SRO you have personal responsibility for delivery of the programme. You are held accountable for delivering its objectives, benefits and policy intent, for securing and protecting its vision, for ensuring it is governed responsibly, reported honestly, escalated appropriately and for influencing constructively the context, culture and operating environment of the programme.

Like all civil servants, you remain accountable to Ministers, as set out in the Civil Service Code, and should delivery the project in accordance with the objectives and policy intent as set by Ministers. When considering your relationship with Ministers, it maybe be helpful to refer to the Ministerial Code.

In addition to your internal accountabilities, you should also be aware that SROs of GMPP programmes and projects are held personally accountable to Parliamentary Select Committees. You will be expected to account for, and explain, decisions and actions you have taken to deliver the programme or specific milestones within the delivery plan. In your case this means that from the date of signature of this letter you will be held personally accountable and could be called by Select Committees to account for delivery of Restart.

It is important to be clear that your accountability relates only to implementation. It will remain for the Minister to account for the relevant policy decisions and development. More information on this is set out in Giving Evidence to Select Committees – Guidance for Civil Servants, sometimes known as the Osmotherly Rules. Detailed SRO roles and responsibilities are detailed in the IPA’s guidance on the role of the Senior Responsible Owner. It is important to be clear that your accountability to Parliament relates only to implementation, within the terms agreed in this letter. It will remain for the Minister to account for the relevant policy decisions and development.

Tenure of Position

This is a short term appointment.

You will be expected to remain in this role until the end of the programme, which is currently planned for 19 October 2021.

Objectives and Performance Criteria

A key aim of the Restart Programme is to help claimants that have been unemployed for 12-24 months back to work as quickly and efficiently as possible. To support this, the objectives of the Programme are to:

• Help those long-term unemployed claimants get back into work on a secure, sustained basis. The programme should provide job outcome focussed support, tailored towards the participants’ needs;

• Design and tailor interventions in accordance with the labour market at a local level. Seeking out and taking advantage of opportunities such as local growth sectors and local training initiatives, and flexing the offer throughout the lifetime of the programme based on emerging labour market challenges and opportunities. The programme should maintain strong working relationships with key local stakeholders to ensure the programme’s offer is complementary to local efforts on an ongoing basis;

• Deliver support as effectively as possible, so that the fiscal return measured for the programme (from additional employment gained and time on benefits reduced) should exceed the cost of the programme;

• Build an evidence base for the design and delivery of large scale employment programmes for long-term benefit claimants.

As SRO of Restart, you have responsibility to actively advance the business strategy and target operating model principles through the implementation of your programme. This includes being clear about, and documenting, risks to the strategy and target operating model if choices are made which run counter to this. You also have a responsibility to be sighted on and aligned with the Single Departmental Plan and attend appropriate governance forums to provide assurance that the programme deliverables are aligned with DWP’s strategic direction and processes.

Any proposed changes to the programme scope which impact on government policy, digital transformation or the benefits your programme has been set up to deliver, must be authorised by the Accounting Officer who may delegate his decision-making authority to either DWP’s Investment Committee (IC) or the DWP Change Portfolio Board (CPB), and may be subject to further levels of approval. You are also responsible for recommending to the Accounting Officer or IC, the need to either pause or terminate the programme where necessary and in a timely manner.

As SRO, you are expected to run your project in accordance with the Government Functional Standard for Project Delivery. Further detail on your role and responsibilities as SRO are set out in IPA guidance on the role of the senior responsible owner, and you are expected to follow that guidance, and other IPA guidance on the management of major projects.

Programme Status

The Programme is required to report quarterly to the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) and include an assessment of deliverability.

The whole life cost budget for this programme is as per the latest approved Business Case, and totals £2,971m (see Annex 1).

Detailed guidance on SRO roles and responsibilities is attached at Annex 2. You should follow that guidance and also ensure that you understand the guidance “Giving Evidence to Select Committees – Guidance for Civil Servants” and make yourself aware of the Infrastructure and Projects Authority guidance on the management of major projects.

Extent and Limit of Accountability

HM Treasury (HMT) spending controls will apply, as set out within the HMT Delegated Spending Authority letter. Where Restart exceeds the delegated authority set by HMT, the Treasury Approval Point process will apply and the details of each approval process must be agreed with the DWP’s HMT spending team.

You should also note that where expenditure is considered novel, contentious, repercussive or likely to result in costs to other parts of the public sector, HMT approval will be required, regardless of whether the programme expenditure exceeds the delegated authority set by HMT. If in doubt about whether approval is required you should, in the first instance, consult DWP Finance Group colleagues before raising with the relevant HMT spending team.

Additionally, following recommendation from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), from April 2017 an accounting officer assessment should always be produced for projects or programmes which form part of the Government’s Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP) at the Outline Business Case stage (or at the point when it enters the GMPP if this is later). Restart joined the GMPP in Q3 2020/21 and published an accounting officer assessment on 23 March 2021.

You should note an updated accounting officer assessment should be prepared at subsequent stages of the Programme if it departs from the four standards (regularity, propriety, value for money and feasibility), or the agreed plan – including any contingency – in terms of costs, benefits, timescales, or level of risk, which informed the accounting officer’s previous approval.

It is for you, as the SRO, to decide whether or not an accounting officer assessment should be prepared at any other stage of the programme. You should be prepared to defend your decisions to Parliament if challenged, for example, if called to give evidence to the Public Accounts Committee.

You should ensure that you operate at all times within the rules set out in Managing Public Money.

In addition, you must be mindful of and act in accordance with the specific Treasury Delegated limits and Cabinet Office controls relevant to projects. Information on these controls can be found here: Cabinet Office controls.

Major Projects Leadership Academy (MPLA)

As the SRO of a Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP) programme, you will be required to attend the Major Projects Leadership Academy (MPLA). You have applied to commence the MPLA as part of Cohort 30 starting in June 2021

We would like to take this opportunity to wish you success in your role as SRO for Restart.

Peter Schofield CB
Permanent Secretary
Department for Work and Pensions

Nick Smallwood
Chief Executive Officer
Infrastructure and Projects Authority

I confirm that I accept the appointment including my personal accountability for implementation of the programme detailed in the letter above.

Name of SRO: Angus Gray

Date: 19/07/2021

Annex 1: Programme/Project Budget

The latest signed off business case baselines are:

2021/2022 Costs (£m)	Whole Life Cost (£m)
£349.1m Costs taken from FBC v1.1 25 May 2021	£2,600.4m Costs taken from FBC v1.1 25 May 2021

Annex 2: Senior Responsible Owner Role and Accountabilities

The role of the SRO

You are personally accountable for ensuring the on-going delivery of the programme. You are responsible for ensuring the related implementation and transition activities will deliver the agreed objectives and the benefits stated in the Business Case.

You must ensure the effectiveness of the governance, assurance and programme management arrangements and maintain them through the life of the programme. You should adopt best practice and be prepared to justify any deviation from it, in line with guidance published by the Cabinet Office.

An SRO will:

• Be a visible, engaged and active programme leader, not a figurehead;
• Deliver the agreed outcomes and benefits;
• Create an open, honest and positive culture committed to delivering at pace;
• Challenge senior officers and Ministers when appropriate and escalate quickly;
• Provide appropriate support, steer and strategic focus to the Programme Director; and
• Have sufficient time, experience and the right skills to carry the full responsibilities of the role.

Specific SRO accountabilities

Set up the programme for success

• Ensure the programme is set-up to make an unambiguous and demonstrable link to strategic policy;
• Translate the policy intent into clear deliverables which are established and agreed with senior stakeholders;
• Carry out robust and commercially viable options appraisal, which balances the risk with opportunity, as part of initial programme feasibility;
• Establish a firm Business Case for the programme during the initiation/definition phase and ensure any planned changes continue to be aligned with the business;
• Identify and secure the necessary investment for the Business Case (this includes both budget and operational resource);
• Design and implement robust, appropriate and transparent programme governance;
• Build strong and effective relationships with key stakeholders, justifying their trust and retaining their confidence, and obtain commitment to benefits realisation.

Meet the programme objectives and deliver the projected benefits

• Gain agreement to the programme objectives and the benefits to be delivered amongst stakeholders, including Ministers where appropriate;
• Understand the broader government perspective and its impact on the programme;
• Ensure the strategic fit of the programme objectives and the stated benefits;
• Agree a clear and simple approach to performance management and monitor delivery of the objectives and benefits taking appropriate action where necessary to ensure their successful delivery.

Develop the programme organisation and plan

• Design and implement a coherent organisation structure and an appropriately detailed programme plan;
• Build the right team, securing necessary resources and skills and providing clear lines of accountability;
• Provide appropriate support, steer and strategic focus to the Programme Director.

Monitor and take control of progress

• Monitor and control the progress of the programme at a strategic level, being honest and frank about project progress, risk and issues;
• Monitor benefits and ensure that any changes to the agreed programme stated benefits are flagged appropriately within programme governance and the Business Case is updated accordingly (throughout the programme life-cycle);
• Maintain the integrity of the programme and speak truth to power;
• Communicate effectively with senior stakeholders about programme progress and provide clear, appropriate and delivery-focused decisions and advice to the Programme Director.

Effective and appropriate problem resolution and referral processes

• Identify, understand and drive the successful mitigation of programme risks;
• Escalate serious issues quickly and with confidence to senior management and/or Ministers;
• Develop strong and effective engagement between programme teams and its stakeholders and sponsors;
• Ensure the communication processes are effective and that the programme’s objectives and deliverables continue to be consistent with the organisation’s strategic direction.

Ensure the programme is subject to review at appropriate stages

• Recognise the value of robust programme review and ensure it occurs at key points in the programme lifecycle, particularly at the pre-initiation (feasibility) and initiation stages;
• Make certain that any recommendations or concerns from reviews are met or addressed in a timely manner;
• In the event of a “red” or “amber-red” review, ensure the Permanent Secretary has been made aware of the situation and briefed accordingly.

Manage formal programme closure

• Formally close the programme documenting lessons learned with the final evaluation report and disseminate to stakeholders;
• Put plans in place for a post implementation review, agreeing this with your Programme Board and other relevant stakeholders;
• Agree a plan for both long term benefits realisation and on-going sustainability with key stakeholders as part of the process of moving to business as usual.