MATRIX CLUSTER TRANSFORMATION PROGRAMME

Government Transformation and Service Delivery

Record date: 31 March 2026

Whole-life cost: £889.8m
Published schedule: 01/04/2022 – 27/11/2027
NISTA delivery confidence: Not disclosed
Senior responsible owner: Richard Henshall

What the project is for

The Matrix Programme seeks to implement the Government Shared Service Strategy for nine government departments by modernising and consolidating back-office systems and services. This will include delivery of a new shared business process service (BPS), a combined enterprise resource planning (ERP) system including ancillary technologies, and a change in ways of working for all users.

Departmental delivery commentary

The Matrix Programme is rated Red, reflecting a number of material issues identified through a planned Stage Gate that impact delivery confidence. These include Stage Gate 1 Readiness issues, notably unmet End‑to‑End Cycle 1 Entry Criteria. Data protection and information assurance risks were also identified, with some data segments having been unintentionally visible and therefore formal entry of the test phase could not take place. This gave rise to the need to rebaseline delivery plans. The Matrix Programme Board met on 26 March to consider the case for re‑baselining the programme. Replanning is intended to establish a more realistic, credible, and achievable forward plan in response to ongoing delivery challenges. Current emerging analysis indicates a delay of 3-6 months, which would move the Phase 1a user go‑live to late 2026. Proposed mitigations centre on alongside structured scenario planning to assess a new plan. A defined set of actions is underway to support an informed decision on revised go‑live dates at the Programme Board in May. System issues have now been resolved and this May date will enable us to assess test progress too. The single biggest risk to this is Depts being unable to find functional SME capacity to undertake the high level of testing they have identified as being required, given their low risk appetite. Notwithstanding the above, there has been tangible progress. Data migration activity is focused on improving data quality ahead of the final migration cycle, thereby reducing risk to subsequent testing and assurance. Core design configuration is now largely complete, with remaining exceptions tightly governed. End‑to‑end testing capacity and execution have improved through a revised testing approach, prioritisation of payroll‑critical scenarios, and the introduction of additional centrally cleared testing support. Mitigations are also being applied across wider design, readiness, and change activity. An iterative delivery approach is enabling service design, change impact assessment, and training needs analysis to progress in line with incremental design maturity. A programme‑level Training Strategy has been agreed and baselined, with further refinement underway as training requirements are confirmed. In parallel, early engagement with UKSBS on the delivery of training for Phase 1a professional users is strengthening delivery resilience and continuity. There remains a significant dependency risk associated with alignment to Shared Services for Government (SSfG) initiatives. The Programme’s ability to deliver agreed time, cost, and quality outcomes is, in part, dependent on SSfG decisions and delivery that sit outside the Programme’s direct control. This continues to represent a material risk to delivery confidence and reinforces the importance of a realistic and evidence‑based rebaseline. There is a significant risk associated with the Pension provider's inability to confirm when end to end pension integration will be able to take place. There was positive progress in March, when Programme Business Case 3 (PBC3) received HM Treasury approval for 2026–27, subject to six conditions. This provides a confirmed funding baseline while work proceeds on the PBC3 addendum (PBC3a), which will seek approval for funding beyond 2027 following re‑baselining. Overall, the current period is focused on embedding mitigations, strengthening delivery assurance and controls, and agreeing a credible and achievable rebaseline that supports informed decision‑making on revised go‑live dates and improves confidence in the Programme’s delivery trajectory.

Schedule

Since the programme plan and associated critical path were baselined in October 2024 with Phase 1a Go Live scheduled for May 2026 and subsequent phased go lives planned ahead of the programme end date of 30 November 2026, the programme has experienced delays primarily driven by Stage Gate 1 Readiness issues, including delays in achieving End to End Cycle 1 entry criteria. In response, the Matrix Programme Board met on 26/3/26 to consider the case for re baselining the programme, including the development of a rectification plan and the consideration of several planning scenarios.

Cost

Compared to FY24/25 Q4, the project's agreed Whole Life Cost at FY25/26 Q4 has changed due to development of a new programme business case, PBC3. Whole life costs at PBC3 include Departmental baselines and Programme resource costs, transformation, and service integrator over a 15-year appraisal period.

Benefits

Compared to financial year 24/25-Q4, the project's departmentally agreed Benefits at 25/26-Q4 (measured in £m) increased from last year's £373m to this years £405m: The previous submission was the PBC2 Addendum. As a result there have been changes across categories: - Reporting changes: PBC3 includes updated baselines of costs and benefits, and efficiency estimates - Design changes: The progression of service design has informed this update - Non-political scope changes: There have been updates to user numbers; some additional disbenefits identified, etc. N.B. Disbenefits are captured within the efficiency estimates, and are not quantified separately. As a result, the reporting shows net benefits.