Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to implement the guidance set out by the Government Commercial Function in its paper entitled Exiting Major IT Contracts: Guidance for Departments, published in November 2017, in respect of (a) using market engagement, (b) setting up disaggregation work, (c) risk assessment, (d) developing a programme plan through the transition, (e) identifying the skills and capabilities that will be needed in the future and (f) any other work related to that guidance.

The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) IT strategy and procurement approach is aligned with the Government Commercial Function paper "Exiting Major IT Contracts: Guidance for Departments". The FCO believes that disaggregating major IT supplier contracts can give better visibility and control, as well as deliver substantial cost savings. We are planning the disaggregation of our major expiring IT contracts and maintain regular contact with colleagues in the Cabinet Office to ensure our IT strategy is in step with wider Government policy.

The FCO has also carried out significant market insight activity to guide its disaggregation approach towards a vision of market-aligned, cloud-first services. The size and skill mix of our in-house management team is being reviewed to ensure it has the skills and resources ready to manage supplier and service transition effectively.