The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has today
announced, following an Independent Review, that she has
accepted recommendations to create a single new digital
function within DWP. This will
bring together colleagues from BPDTS and DWP Digital.
The news follows the conclusion of a Tailored Review into
BPDTS, which is a standard review process during the
lifetime of every arm’s length body. The review strongly
commended BPDTS’s performance and contribution to
DWP,
citing its successful operational performance, quality of
leadership and overall calibre of people. It found strong
evidence of BPDTS’s contribution to improving the
resilience of DWP’s technology
and bringing new capabilities into the department.
The joining of these 2 functions will create a simpler,
stronger digital offering which is greater than the sum of
its 2 parts. It will better equip the department to deliver
its strategic goals of joined-up customer journeys across
digital-first channels. The aim is for this to happen on 1
July 2021.
This will also strengthen the Digital, Data and Technology
profession in government, supporting the Government
Transformation Strategy’s ambition to ‘have one of the most
digitally skilled populations of civil servants in the
world’.
Loveday Ryder, CEO of BPDTS, comments,
Despite existing as 2 separate functions since our
inception, we have been united in our common goals, our
work ethic and our desire to make a difference through
digital. Our commitment is the same – to deliver better
services for 85,000 DWP colleagues
and 20 million customers.
We will be working alongside our colleagues in
DWP
Digital and in wider DWP to make
this vision of united digital excellence a reality. Now
more than ever, digital services need to be quicker,
simpler and offer the best user experience possible.
Continuing to make the most of the digital expertise
BPDTS has as part of a new super-function offers a truly
exciting opportunity.
When talking about today’s announcement, , Chair of
the BPDTS Board, added
I and my fellow Board Directors are incredibly proud of
what BPDTS has achieved. Our people now have the
opportunity to join with their DWPcolleagues
to help build a new digital function, to use their
specialist digital skills and so support many millions of
people across the UK, many of whom may be at a critical
juncture in their life
