Outsource Magazine

In a previous article I compared the success of Tate & Lyle’s launch of shared services in ten months with the ten-year gestation period for the Research Councils in the UK.

So how is the Cabinet Office, with the support of big hitting minister Francis Maude, progressing in delivering shared services for central government and its Arms Length Bodies?

When the Cabinet Office launched ‘Government Shared Services: A Strategic Vision’ last July in a flurry of self-congratulatory excitement it seemed possible that the government’s shared services initiative launched in 2004 might finally be moving forward after six years of policy development.

It envisaged two ‘Independent Shared Services Centres’ (ISSCs) to which all departments would move for their corporate services with a ‘Central Government oversight function’ to “lead a new governance structure which will accredit ISSCs, establish benchmarks and set customer service standards” and “approve Departmental and ALB strategies and provide support as they migrate into this model”.

The vision was less clear on the future for the existing SSCs (such as Defra, MOJ, Prison Service) where, after significant financial investment, there are signs service levels and efficiencies are now being achieved. Described as "standalones" these centres would come under central scrutiny and “if an ISSC demonstrates better value for money than a Standalone Service Centre, the Department may be compelled to become a customer of an ISSC”. The message was clear: cash-strapped departments could keep their own operations but woe betide them if they spend any money to maintain or develop the service.

The vision concludes: “Over the next three months, the Cabinet Office ERG Shared Services team will work with Departments to conduct a due diligence exercise, to develop the plan to migrate to the future shared services model, together with an estimation of projected costs and benefits that will form the basis of a strategic outline business case. This work will be reported in November 2011. “

By the end of August the Cabinet Office had presumably realised they couldn’t achieve their own target, causing them to seek external consultancy support to “put forward a summary paper outlining the results of the SBC to the Civil Service Steering Board in mid-October 2011”.

Fast forward to January 2012. With no plan or business case (note - ‘strategic outline’ not detailed or operational) in sight, the department responsible for improving project management across government looks to have a 50 per cent time over-run on its hands so far.

Meanwhile the outsourcing procurement for the Department for Transport’s (DfT)  SSC in Swansea has moved into the shortlist stage. With the best will in the world it is difficult to see the procurement being completed before the summer, which would give the new supplier six months to transition the ‘as is’ service across for the start of the 2012/13 financial year. Last year’s National Audit Office report on DfT also shows there is much to be done to stabilise the current service before it expands further. Assuming they can develop their own robust business cases, unless departments are comfortable moving across mid-year this suggests this ISSC is unlikely to be taking on much new work before 2013/14.

Successful shared service initiatives are based on clear project management, pragmatism, drive and commitment - rather than policy dictat, hope and words.

As existing SSC teams in central government struggle with headcount cuts, reducing investment and morale sapping reviews; the government’s shared services journey continues to look to be slow and difficult...