Committee publication · Correspondence · 4 June 2026
Letter from the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology relating to Treasury Minute: Government Services: identifying costs, 21 May 2026
From: Public Accounts Committee
Inquiry: Government services: Identifying costs and generating income
Summary
DSIT's Permanent Secretary responds to the PAC's April letter requesting clarification on recommendation 3b from the Government Services report. DSIT explains why it cannot produce a cross-government prioritised list of legacy systems based on existing 2024 data, citing incomplete coverage, lack of updates, and poor correlation between legacy severity metrics and actual inefficiencies. The letter outlines alternative approaches including the Digital Business Review process and pilots of AI code remediation tools.
Key findings
- 2024 legacy systems dataset is incomplete, unevenly covers public sector bodies (excluding NHS, policing, local authorities), and has not been refreshed to reflect remediation or degradation since collection
- Legacy severity framework does not reliably indicate where operational inefficiencies such as manual workarounds and duplicated staffing effort are greatest
- DSIT will use Digital Business Review process to capture departmental modernisation priorities rather than produce centrally-mandated prioritised list
- AI code remediation pilot with DEFRA completed 9 months of work in 4 weeks; DEFRA subsequently launched own Legacy Application Programme independently
- Pilots expanded to four additional public sector organisations; Technology Modernisation Action Plan will improve data quality and evidence base over time, but implementation will exceed 6-month PAC recommendation timeframe
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Emran Mian, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), Public Accounts Committee
Notable line
“… found they were able to complete 9 months of work in just 4 weeks. Significantly, we identified that once the AI tools had been deployed …”
Key Quotes
“… it has not been refreshed to reflect remediation activity or further degradation since that period”
“Legacy severity, as measured in the framework, does not reliably indicate where inefficiencies such as manual workarounds, duplicated staffing effort, or process failures are greatest”
“DSIT first piloted these tools in partnership with DEFRA and found they were able to complete 9 months of work in just 4 weeks”
“… once the AI tools had been deployed, understood and established in the working practices of DEFRA's teams, they were able to continue the work without further input from DSIT”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗