UNITY PROGRAMME

Government Transformation and Service Delivery

Record date: 31 March 2026

Whole-life cost: £246m
Published schedule: 01/02/2021 – 30/04/2028
NISTA delivery confidence: RED
Senior responsible owner: Adrian Scott, Cath Rollo

What the project is for

The Shared Service Strategy for government launched in March 2021 setting out the vision to transform Shared Services across the civil service improving end users experience. To achieve this 5 clusters have been formed across the civil service. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), Department for Transport (DfT) and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) collectively make up the Unity Programme. The Unity Vision is to transform HR, Finance and Procurement across HMRC, DfT and MHCLG groups, creating a unified shared service which is user centric, swift and cost effective. Our colleagues will be empowered through intuitive, streamlined and automated processes, improving their experience and enabling everyone to spend more time delivering essential services for the public.

Departmental delivery commentary

Delivery confidence is improving. Since 2024/25, issues have emerged in planning, governance and delivery control, which have affected pace and confidence. The programme has now put in place a revised delivery approach and strengthened governance, with a clearer plan and leadership model to stabilise delivery. These actions are focused on restoring control and improving delivery confidence over the coming year.

Schedule

Compared to financial year 24/25 Q4, the project's end-date at 25/26 Q4 increased from 31/12/2027 to 30/04/2028. This is primarily due to the following factors: There has been slower progress in development and delivery across projects than anticipated. There are also issues with current resourcing levels to achieve delivery timelines. Detailed replanning is underway to bring confidence to milestone delivery and Go Live dates.

Cost

Compared to financial year 24/25 Q4, the programme's departmentally agreed Whole Life Cost at 25/26 Q4 (measured in £m) remained at 259. However, it is anticipated that the movement of delivery timelines to the right, and addressing the under resourcing of the programme will result in the need for additional funds to complete the programme. This will be quantified in the next version of the Business Case being submitted late summer 2026.

Benefits

Compared to financial year 24/25 Q4, the programme's departmentally agreed Benefits at 25/26 Q4 (measured in £m) remained at £33M.