Transparency data

Integrated Single Financial Environment Programme: SRO appointment letter

Published 30 September 2025

To: Vicky Gaulter, senior responsible owner for the procurement of the next generation of the Integrated Single Financial Environment Programme (ISFE2)

From: Sir James Mackey, Chief Executive Officer of NHS England

Becky Wood, Chief Executive Officer of the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority and the Senior Accountable Officer for Project Delivery across government

18 September 2025

Appointment as senior responsible owner for the procurement of the next generation of the Integrated Single Financial Environment Programme (ISFE2)

Dear Vicky,

We are writing to confirm your appointment as senior responsible owner (SRO) of the procurement of the next generation of the Integrated Single Financial Environment Programme (ISFE2) with effect from 13 March 2024. This letter sets out your responsibilities and the support you can expect from your department and the National Infrastructure Service Transformation Authority (NISTA).

As SRO, you are directly accountable to Sir James Mackey, Chief Executive Officer of NHS England.

Your programme forms part of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) portfolio, under the oversight of the Permanent Secretary and Principal Accounting Officer for DHSC, and is included in the Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP).

You have personal responsibility for the delivery of the programme and will be held accountable for the delivery of its objectives, policy intent and outcomes. This encompasses:

• securing and protecting its vision
• ensuring that it is governed responsibly, reported on honestly and escalated appropriately
• influencing the context, culture and operating environment of the programme

You are also responsible for ensuring the ongoing viability of the programme and recommending its pause or termination if appropriate. Where issues arise that you are unable to resolve, you are responsible for escalating these to the NHS England chief financial officer and/or DHSC as appropriate.

You remain accountable to ministers, as set out in the Civil Service Code, and should deliver the project in accordance with the objectives and policy intent as set by ministers.

In addition to your internal accountabilities, SROs for GMPP projects and programmes are personally accountable to Parliamentary select committees. This means that, from the date of this letter, you will be held personally accountable to and could be called by select committees to account for and explain the decisions and actions you have taken to deliver the programme.

It is important to be clear that your accountability relates only to implementation, within the agreed terms in this letter. 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. Information on the roles and responsibilities of the SRO are detailed in Government Project Delivery’s guidance on the role of the senior responsible owner,

You are expected to run your project or programme in accordance with the Government Functional Standard for Project Delivery, and the requirements of other functional standards as required, which is mandated for government departments and arm’s length bodies to follow. You should also make yourself familiar with the Teal Book, Government Project Delivery’s code of practice for project delivery, and any further guidance and requirements set by NHS England.

Time commitment and tenure

This role will require 50% of your time to enable effective delivery of the role and execute your responsibilities in full.

You are required to undertake this role until achievement of a Gate Review 5: Operations Review and Benefits Realisation, which will be planned for 6 months after the go-live date of the new system. Progress towards this will be reflected in your personal objectives.

Any changes to the agreed time commitment or tenure of the role, as set out above, will require both departmental and NISTA consent.

Objectives and performance criteria

The policy intent supported by this programme is to procure and implement the next generation of the NHS England Group ISFE programme, which is the platform and associated financial services that enables the NHS England Group to run its core financial processes.

This includes the following areas:

• general ledger and financial accounting
• management reporting
• cash management
• accounts payable
• accounts receivable
• VAT services
• interfacing with third-party systems

Any proposed changes to scope that impact on this intent or the realisation of benefits must be authorised by the programme sponsor, the NHS England chief financial officer, and may be subject to further levels of approval.

The vision of the ISFE2 programme is to safely transition to a new shared service provision for finance processes that is available for the wider NHS, delivered using leading practice digital solutions with an enhanced customer experience, which enables insight driven decision making.

The strategic outcomes are:

• to enable business systems-driven efficiencies in line with Government Business Services best practice
• to enhance transparency and accountability (governance and controls)
• to become insight driven and enable value from data and information
• to build a platform that is available for the wider NHS
• flexibility to adapt to change and increased mobility through use of digital cloud solutions
• enhanced user and customer experience

Your personal objectives and performance criteria that relate to the programme are to:

• own the strategic vision for the programme
• secure the investment required to set up and run the programme, and funding for the transition activities so that the expected benefits are realised
• provide overall direction and leadership for the delivery and implementation of the programme, and have personal accountability for its outcome
• have personal accountability for the realisation of benefits
• have accountability for the programme’s governance and programme management arrangements
• own the overall delivery of the ISFE business case
• manage the interface with key senior stakeholders, keeping them engaged and informed
• manage the key strategic risks facing the programme
• maintain the alignment of the programme to the organisation’s strategic direction

Extent and limit of accountability

Finance and controls

HM Treasury spending controls will apply on the basis set out within the department’s delegated authority letter. Where the programme exceeds the delegated authority set by HM Treasury, the Treasury approval point process will apply, and the details of each approval process must be agreed with your HM Treasury spending team. You should consult departmental finance colleagues on how to go about this.

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

The overall estimated budget, resourcing requirements and tolerances for your project or programme will be agreed as part of the approval process. You will be expected to deliver within these tolerances and report quarterly on these as part of GMPP reporting.

You should 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 HM Treasury delegated limits and Cabinet Office controls relevant to the programme.

Delegated authority

You are authorised to:

• approve expenditure as set out in the approved full business case in line with the NHS England Standing financial instructions
• agree programme rescheduling of agreed level 0 milestones and the go-live date for the new ISFE service, which must be agreed by NHS England’s chief finance officer as the programme sponsor along with advising, where appropriate, DHSC and NISTA
• recommend to the programme sponsor (the chief financial officer) and NHS England’s chief executive officer the need to either pause or terminate the programme, where necessary, and in a timely manner

These authority limits are subject to change, and other conditions or tolerances may be set as part of the business case approval and ongoing monitoring processes, which you should then operate within.

Where issues arise that take you outside of these authority limits and which you are unable to resolve, you are responsible for escalating these issues to the programme sponsor, NHS England’s chief executive officer.

Appointments

You should appoint a full-time programme director to support you in the management of this programme, and make other appointments, as required, for the control and delivery of your programme within your delegated authority.  

Governance and assurance

You should pay attention to ensuring effective governance for your programme, including the establishment of a programme board with appropriate membership and clear terms of reference.

As primary owner, you must ensure that the programme secures business case approval from NHS England, DHSC Investment Committee, Cabinet Office and HM Treasury. You should also ensure that the programme remains aligned to the strategic outcomes, costs, timescales and benefits, in line with the approved business case, as well as monitoring the context within which the programme is being delivered to ensure it remains valid.

Where a change impacts the scope, costs, benefits or planned delivery milestones agreed as part of the business case, you are responsible for following the agreed change request approval process and setting a new, approved business case baseline.

You should ensure that an accounting officer assessment is completed alongside the approval of the outline business case and that this is published on GOV.UK as part of the government’s transparency requirements on major projects. You are responsible for bringing to the attention of the accounting officer any material changes in the programme that could require a new accounting officer assessment to be completed and published. Guidance on completing accounting officer assessments for major projects is available from HM Treasury.

Although you are directly accountable for this programme, you are also expected to support delivery of the department’s overall strategic objectives. This means that you are expected to work collaboratively with:

• other SROs and project directors in adjacent projects and programmes
• the DHSC portfolio management office and portfolio director to manage dependencies, resources, schedules and funding to support delivery of the overall change the department needs to achieve its strategic objectives

You should ensure that appropriate and proportionate assurance is in place, and agree on the level and frequency of assurance reviews through the maintenance of an integrated assurance and approvals plan. You should develop this plan and its maintenance in collaboration with the departmental assurance co-ordinator and NISTA.

Programme status, reporting and transparency requirements

The ISFE2 programme status at the date of your appointment is reflected in the most recent quarterly return on the programme to NISTA and is the agreed position as you assume formal ownership of the programme.

You are responsible for:

• ensuring the honest and timely reporting on the position of the programme to NISTA while it remains on the GMPP
• providing reports and information to the DHSC Portfolio Oversight Board as required

Reporting should include carbon measurement, and other sustainable development goals, demonstrating evidence that the project contributes to an overarching environmental strategy and is aligned with defined net zero pathways. Information on the programme will be published annually by NISTA.

As part of the government’s commitment to transparency on major infrastructure projects, you are responsible for publishing on GOV.UK:

• a summary of the accounting officer assessment, completed in line with the approval of the outline business case, and summaries of any subsequent assessments should they be required
• a summary of the HM Treasury approved full business case
• a close-out report after the programme has completed

You are also responsible for registering all planned, live and completed evaluations on the government Evaluation Registry.

Development and support

As SRO of a GMPP programme, you have completed SRO Fundamentals. Based on the stage and remaining period of the programme, you are required, in the future, to complete the Major Projects Leadership Academy training.

To widen experience and understanding of the role, SROs are also expected to:

• become accredited assurance reviewers
• lead or participate in such reviews for other government departments, the wider public sector and other areas of NHS England, as appropriate

Becoming an assurance reviewer and completing a review will form part of your time at the Major Projects Leadership Academy. To maintain your accreditation, you will be required to participate in a review at least once every 12 months.

The department will assist you in securing the necessary resources to support the programme, and will set clear guidance, requirements and standards, which align to the Government Functional Standard GovS 002: Project Delivery, to enable good governance and effective delivery. You will be part of the department’s cohort of major project leaders who will be expected to support each other, share good practice and lessons learned, and collectively develop solutions. You should liaise with the department’s head of profession for project delivery to discuss the maintenance and development of your delivery and leadership skills.

NISTA will be available to you for support, advice and assurance throughout the programme’s time on the GMPP.

Following approval of the business case and entry onto the DHSC portfolio, the Portfolio Oversight Board will provide ongoing oversight and support, and will take steps to help resolve and escalate risks, issues or constraints that are acting as a blocker to successful delivery.

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

Yours sincerely,

Sir James Mackey
Chief Executive Officer of NHS England

Becky Wood
Chief Executive Officer of the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority and the Senior Accountable Officer for Project Delivery across government

Confirmation of acceptance of appointment

I confirm that I accept the appointment of senior responsible owner for the programme, including my personal accountability for implementation, as set out in the letter above.

Vicky Gaulter
18 September 2025