Cabinet Office: ICT

(asked on 17th January 2024) - View Source

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much funding his Department has (a) budgeted for and (b) spent on software updates to legacy computer systems in each of the last three years.


Answered by
Alex Burghart Portrait
Alex Burghart
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
This question was answered on 23rd January 2024

Most of the systems within Cabinet Office operate on the basis of updates being provided within the licence costs. As such there is no specific budget or spend for updates.

The Cabinet Office employs the Legacy IT Assessment Risk Framework, a standardised methodology designed by the Central Digital and Data Office, to assess the risks associated with legacy digital technology assets across His Majesty's Government. The highest category of risk within the framework is known as ‘red-rated’. This approach enables the Cabinet Office to generate a prioritised overview of our legacy technology, clearly highlighting assets that necessitate remediation plans and the allocation of suitable funding for implementation.

Where we have allocated funding to develop, sustain or migrate legacy systems of our Red Rated Systems we have:

  1. Budgeted £21,405,400 over the last three years and;

  2. Spending within that timeframe has been consistent with the budget.

In addition, the Cabinet Office is currently refining its approach to the definition and management of Legacy Systems.

Reticulating Splines