Francis Maude mulls mulligan on muddled merger of UK govt tech services
- Reference: 1700220968
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/11/17/francis_maude_gds/
- Source link:
As paymaster general and minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude was the architect of the Government Digital Service (GDS). The newly created team was designed to "drive service delivery to digital across government and provide support, advice and technical expertise for Departments as they develop new digital delivery models," [1]he said in 2012 .
However, in early 2021, the unit was split, with a splinter team forming the Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO). Government reasoning was that they should both operate within the Cabinet Office, but CDDO should be setting strategy and standards while GDS developed services.
[2]
In his [3]Independent Review of Government and Accountability in the Civil Service , the 70-year-old life peer said GDS and CDDO should become one unit once more.
[4]
[5]
"Where previously each function had a clear and unambiguous leader at the centre who was responsible for driving effectiveness with one voice across Whitehall, the centre is now frequently providing multiple (and mixed) signals," he said.
"In digital, for example, the split between the Government Digital Service (GDS) and Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO) creates a largely artificial split between functional leadership and delivery. The lack of a unified organisational structure degrades the strength of leadership that can be provided by the centre, and absorbs significant amounts of officials' time in brokering internal coordination rather than delivery."
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If delivery was at the forefront of the government's mind, early leadership was an interesting choice. Early in 2021, [7]it picked Joanna Davinson to head up CDDO , which leads 18,000 digital, data, and technology professionals in government.
[8]UK may demand tech world tell it about upcoming security features
[9]King Charles III signs off on UK Online Safety Act, with unenforceable spying clause
[10]TaxWatch finds astute scheme minimizes Big Tech's UK tax bill by over $2B
[11]It's time to celebrate the abysmal efforts to go paperless in the NHS
She had prepared well. In her previous role at the Home Office, she spent the last three years overseeing the Emergency Services Network project, which at the time was incurring £550 million in additional annual costs because of delays. The replacement blue light mobile communications and data service was first expected to go live in 2017, and is now not set to arrive until 2029.
Nonetheless, CDDO can point to other significant KPIs. In September, a report from MPs found tech skills shortages and reliance on legacy systems were holding back the government's efforts to improve efficiency, 11 years after Maude first created to GDS to tackle that very problem.
Parliament's [12]spending watchdog warned that skills shortages, including those self-inflicted through headcount cuts among tech teams, "risk costing … much more in the long run because opportunities to transform are foregone, and delays increase the risks of prolonging legacy systems."
Dame Meg Hillier MP, chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said: "Whitehall's digital services, far from transforming at the pace required, are capable of only piecemeal and incremental change."
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Not that Maude has had a career without controversy. In 2015, shortly after he departed his role as Cabinet Office minister, The Register [14]revealed that the six largest Whitehall departments splashed out £1.4 billion on tech projects in addition to the cost of running IT, which was £2.3 billion for the same six departments. This was despite half of the top [15]20 software and IT services suppliers seeing their government revenue decline .
Perhaps with current PM Rishi Sunak promising change, the government will see fit to merge the CDDO and the GDS. But only an optimist would expect dramatically different results. ®
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[1] https://gds.blog.gov.uk/2012/06/11/francis-maude-speaks-at-intellect-public-services-conference/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZVecNzV2Wx1rh9Aca6Fq@gAAAEw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6552350b8a2ed40013720d82/Independent-Review-of-Governance-and-Accountability-in-the-Civil-Service-The-Rt-Hon-Lord-Maude-of-Horsham-Final-3.pdf
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZVecNzV2Wx1rh9Aca6Fq@gAAAEw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZVecNzV2Wx1rh9Aca6Fq@gAAAEw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZVecNzV2Wx1rh9Aca6Fq@gAAAEw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2021/01/13/esn_boss_promotion/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/07/ukgov_wants_prior_notice_of/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/27/online_safety_act_charles/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/16/taxwatch_finds_astute_scheme_minimizes/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/05/pick_your_year_its_time/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/13/uk_government_efficiency_held_back/
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZVecNzV2Wx1rh9Aca6Fq@gAAAEw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2015/03/10/gov_departments_still_splashing_billions_on_expensive_it/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2014/02/21/tmv_public_sector_sits_13/
[16] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Idea
Much of that's true, but the biggest causes of failed government projects is almost always a mix of some of the four cardinal sins of IT projects, and they're almost always down to the sponsoring government departments, not GDS or government procurement:
Poor data in the first place (GIGO)
Overly ambitious requirements
Inadequately specified requirements
Requirements changed after the contract is placed
Some of that is more difficult than it sounds - take a DWP benefits systems change. All very well thinking you have your requirements fixed at the start, but in the guessed three years from tender to sign off it is almost certain that some twerp of a politician will have declared a change to government policy that changes the requirements. And after contract has been let, that'll be inherently complex, and at the IT contractor's zillion pound an hour uncontracted changes rate.
Re: Idea
That said, "Contractors" working for usual suspects make little money in comparison to what usual suspects charge.
Joy of IR35 exemption.
"the centre is now frequently providing multiple (and mixed) signals,"
That sounds like too many chiefs. Merging GDS back in will provide a few more. What was the problem again?
Francis Maude
The minister who brought you
"There are only two sorts of information, public information and sensitive information. We do not need silly distinctions like RESTRICTED, CONFIDENTIAL, SECRET and TOP SECRET with all the different levels of security. So we'll go for ordinary information that anyone can see and OFFICIAL, and then everyone will be happy."
Of course he did not get his way (fortunately), but did cause a big mess and lots of stress.
If anyone can explain and give an example of the actual difference in handling between 'OFFICIAL' and 'OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE' please let me know.
But I'm sure his new idea is completely well considered and thought through :oD
Re: Francis Maude
"If anyone can explain and give an example of the actual difference in handling between 'OFFICIAL' and 'OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE' please let me know."
Sir Humphrey might have expressed it as "OFFICIAL means everybody knows. OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE means only the Russians know."
It would need updating for the post-Cold War era - s/Russians/Chinese/
Re: Francis Maude
"If anyone can explain and give an example of the actual difference in handling between 'OFFICIAL' and 'OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE' please let me know."
According to https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1166145/Government_Security_Classifications_Policy_June_2023.pdf
"The -SENSITIVE marking should be applied to OFFICIAL information that is not intended for public release and that is of at least some interest to threat actors (internal or external), activists or the media."
A practical example might be a list of roles at a government facility being OFFICIAL. If the same list had names and contact details of the people in those roles, that might be OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE. As for handling, OFFICIAL can be emailed in the clear, OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE can still be emailed but only with accredited encryption.
Re: Francis Maude
It's the old "classify everything as secret just in case" model of government but then when somebody lost the dept of rural affairs tea rota on a bus there were "Top Secret Govt Docs Lost" headlines.
So now they have a bunch of meaningless classifications so they can refuse to reveal stuff but without the headlines
David Cameron and those sunny coalition years
a. Lost the Brexit vote.
b. Almost lost the Scottish independence vote
c. Destabilizing Libya.
d. Imposed austerity in the middle of yet another depression.
e. Failed to stop unrestricted migration from the EU.
--
“ driving effectiveness with one voice across Whitehall ”
That has to be a typo?
“ 11 years after Maude first created to GDS to tackle that very problem. ”
Definitly a typo :o
Re: David Cameron and those sunny coalition years
You forgot some Cameron triumphs:
f. Ran away after the Brexit vote
g. Lost the UK's AAA credit rating
g. Introduced the plastic bag tax
h. Restructured the health service to plans developed by McKinsey, world famous for their expertise in medicine and health
i. Committed future government to ludicrous foreign aid spending targets
Re: David Cameron and those sunny coalition years
>Almost lost the Scottish independence vote
Did he? The Tory plan use to be for Scottish Independence to get rid of 30 Labour seats, but since Scotland decided to opt-out of Westminster politics who cares.
> Restructured the health service to plans developed by McKinsey, world famous for their expertise in medicine and health
Mission not quite accomplished, but they're working on it.
> Committed future government to ludicrous foreign aid spending targets
If you're running to be the next Labour leader you have to throw a few crumbs to the lefties
Idea
There is the idea:
- Ensure CS engineer wages to be so low you can't hire anyone competent
- Apply for contractors from the usual suspects
- Blur responsibilities, to create endless meetings and delays
- Let usual suspects supply the least competent and cheapest contractors they have at highest acceptable price.
???
Massive stable profit for usual suspects.
A delayed crap is delivered, so that work on improving it can be commissioned
Rinse and repeat.