Transparency data

Echo2 (global network and services) programme: SRO appointment letter, February 2020

Updated 3 April 2024

To: Stephen Robbins, Deputy Chief Information Officer, Foreign and Commonwealth Office

From: Simon McDonald, Permanent Under-Secretary, FCO; and Nick Smallwood, Chief Executive Officer of the Infrastructure and Projects Authority

14 February 2020

Dear Stephen,

Appointment as senior responsible owner for the ECHO 2 programme

We are writing to confirm your appointment to the role of Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) for the Echo 2 Programme, following the reset of the Programme in March 2019 after the earlier abandonment of the procurement. As SRO, you are personally accountable to the Permanent Under-Secretary for delivering the programme and for the realisation of the expected benefits. The following officers and functions will routinely represent the Permanent Under-Secretary’s interest in supporting and holding you to account as SRO, referring matters to the Permanent Under-Secretary as necessary:

• FCO Chief Operating Officer
• FCO Investment, Infrastructure and Operations Committee (IIOC)
• FCO Management Board
• ECHO 2 Steering Group

If you encounter issues which cannot be resolved through these governance arrangements, you should escalate to the Permanent Under-Secretary.

Your role will be part time, as part of your wider responsibilities, and require on average 20% of your working time per month.

As SRO, you have personal responsibility for delivery of the ECHO 2 Programme and will be held accountable for:

• delivering its objectives
• securing and protecting its vision
• ensuring it is governed responsibly, reported honestly, and escalated where appropriate
• influencing positively the working culture and operating environment of the Programme Team

In addition to your internal accountabilities, you should be aware that SROs will now be held personally accountable to Parliamentary Select Committees. You will be expected to account for and explain the decisions and actions you have taken to deliver the Programme (or specific milestones). In your case, this means that from the date of signature of the letter, you will be held personally accountable and could be called by Select Committees for delivery of the Echo 2 Programme.

It is important to be clear that your accountability relates only to implementation. It will remain for the Minister to account for the relevant policy decisions and development. You should also make sure you understand the guidance Giving Evidence to Select Committees — Guidance for Civil Servants. You should also make yourself aware of the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) guidance on management of major projects.

Tenure of position

You are required to undertake this role until the Echo 2 Services complete any procurement process and the transition to the new services are complete. Progress towards this will be reflected in your personal objectives.

Objectives and performance criteria

The strategic objectives of the Programme set out in the Programme Business Case were to:

• ensure continuity of all telecommunications services required by the partners by delivering a controlled programme for the management of the reprocurement, exit from the current contract and transition of the new service to Business as Usual

• assess the full range of ECHO services and new services requirements with a view to:

  • determining an approach for exiting those that are no longer required. Where existing services are not being re-procured, ensure that the FCO, British Council or DflD clearly accepts ownership
  • determining the most effective re-procurement approach for all required services, recognising that it may be more efficient for some services to be re-procured as part of initiatives that are separate to the Programme
• put in place a network which is as performant and resilient as necessary to enable the delivery of respective partner IT strategies
• deliver a reduction in like-for-like operating costs, investment in bandwidth / resilience within existing operational budgets
• establish control, transparency and assured ongoing value for money
• identify ways to improve partner capability for forecasting for, and funding, future initiatives that will realise ongoing/further telecommunications business benefits
• deliver a contract which provides for the flexibility to change and upgrade solutions, in accordance with technological advancements and evolving ways of working, in a way where the processes and costs in doing so are structured/controlled
• ensure responsibilities for delivery of the telecommunications services and functions are delineated between Suppliers and the Partners in a way that enables efficiency of operation, recognising that there might be benefit in creating new “cross-partner” function(s) for some aspects of operations
• build and foster a positive relationship with new suppliers, ensuring they are not only capable but willing to meet contractual commitments

Parameters of accountability

Finance and controls

HM Treasury spending controls will apply on the basis set out within the FCO’s delegated authority letter. Where the programme exceeds the delegated authority set by HM Treasury, the Treasury Approval Point process will apply and the details of each approval process must be agreed with your 1-1MT spending team. You should consult Departmental finance colleagues on how to go about this.

You should also note that where expenditure is considered novel, contentious, repercussive or likely to result in costs to other parts of the public sector, HM Treasury approval will be required, regardless of whether the programme expenditure exceeds the delegated authority set by HM Treasury, If in doubt about whether approval is required, you should, in the first instance, consult Departmental finance colleagues before raising with the relevant HM Treasury spending team.

You should operate at all times within the rules set out in Managing Public Money. You must also keep in mind and act in accordance with the specific Treasury delegated limits and Cabinet Office controls relevant to the Echo 2 Programme.

Delegated departmental/programme authority

• you are authorised to approve expenditure below or equal to £10 million
• you are authorised to agree programme rescheduling within three months of agreed milestones, however rescheduling beyond that must be agreed with the Echo 2 Programme Board and ratified by the Echo 2 Steering Group and 110C
• you are responsible for recommending to the Echo 2 Steering Group and 110C the need to pause or terminate the programme, where necessary, and in suitable time for each of the partners to make appropriate alternative arrangements

Where issues arise which you are unable to resolve, you are responsible for escalating these through the Echo 2 Steering Group and 110C.

Programme status report

The Programme Status at the date of your appointment is reflected in the outcome of the Programme Assessment Review, conducted in October 2019, where a delivery confidence assessment of AMBER was given. This is the agreed position at the time of this letter as you continue formal ownership of the programme.

Major Projects Leadership Academy (MPLA)

As SRO of a GMPP programme, you will be expected to enrol on the MPLA or ensure a MPLA qualified Programme Director is appointed to support you. You will be contacted shortly by a member of the MPLA Leadership & Capabilities team to discuss this.

To widen experience and understanding of the role, SROs are expected to become accredited Major Project reviewers and to lead or participate in such reviews for other Government Departments, the wider public sector or other areas of the FCO, as appropriate. You will be required to participate in such reviews at least once every 12 months to maintain your accreditation.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish you success in your role as SRO.

Simon McDonald

Nick Smallwood

I confirm that I accept the appointment, including my personal accountability for implementation of the programme, as detailed in the letter above.

Stephen Robbins