Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority Major Projects Annual Report 2025 to 2026, Tables, Falcon Programme schedule narrative, whether there is a cost o the programme’s of delaying the completion date from December 2026 to December 2027.

The Falcon programme is currently in its pilot phase, which includes three business units. Key technical aspects of the pilot are expected to be completed by Christmas, followed by a wider Cabinet Office rollout starting in January, which will allow benefits to be realized as each business unit transitions.

The programme’s future service model has been designed and will be tested during the pilot, which is scheduled to conclude by 31st March 2027. Regarding governance, the programme has refined and matured its change control and governance processes, enabling faster identification, assessment, and decision-making.

A revised Programme Business Case is underway, with work initiated in late August and is scheduled for submission in November. This document will include both a rebaselined benefits position and rebaselined costs extending to December 2027.

In relation to testing, defects identified during prepilot testing required significant remediation before the programme could pass through its pilot entry gateway review. Subsequent remediations were successfully planned and executed, enabling the programme to proceed through a following gateway review.