Transparency data

NHS Future Workforce Solution Programme: SRO appointment letter

Published 28 April 2025

To: Jeff Pasternack, senior responsible owner for the NHS Future Workforce Solution formerly the ESR Transformation programme

From: Michael Brodie CBE, Chief Executive of NHS Business Services Authority

Nick Smallwood, Chief Executive Officer of the Infrastructure and Projects Authority

Sir Chris Wormald, Permanent Secretary of Department of Health and Social Care

14 November 2024

Appointment as senior responsible owner for the NHS Future Workforce Solution

Dear Jeff,

We are writing to confirm your appointment as senior responsible owner (SRO) of the NHS Future Workforce Solution with effect from 1 October 2024. This letter sets out your responsibilities and the support you can expect from your department and the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA).

As SRO, you are directly accountable to Michael Brodie, CEO of NHSBSA, under the oversight of the Permanent Secretary as accounting officer for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), and Karin Smyth, Minister of State for Health.

Your programme forms part of the DHSC and NHSBSA portfolio, under the oversight of the Chair of the DHSC Portfolio Board and NHSBSA Board and is included in the Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP).

You have personal responsibility for the delivery of the NHS Future Workforce Solution and will be held accountable for the delivery of its objectives, with policy intent and outcomes expected. This encompasses securing and protecting its vision, ensuring that it is governed responsibly, reported on honestly, escalated appropriately and for influencing the context, culture and operating environment of the programme. You are also responsible for ensuring the ongoing viability of the programme and recommending its pause or termination if appropriate. Where issues arise which you are unable to resolve you are responsible for escalating these to the NHSBSA Leadership Team and Board.

You remain accountable to ministers, as set out in the Civil Service Code, and should deliver the project in accordance with the objectives and policy intent as set by ministers.

In addition to your internal accountabilities, SROs for GMPP projects and programmes are personally accountable to Parliamentary select committees. This means that, from the date of this letter, you will be held personally accountable to, and could be called by, select committees to account for and explain the decisions and actions you have taken to deliver the programme.

It is important to be clear that your accountability relates only to implementation, within the agreed terms set out in this letter; it will remain for the minister to account for the relevant policy decisions and development.

More information on this is set out in Giving evidence to select committees - guidance for civil servants which is sometimes known as the Osmotherly Rules. Information on the roles and responsibilities of the SRO are detailed in the IPA’s guidance on the role of the senior responsible owner. You should also make yourself familiar with the Government Functional Standard for Project Delivery, the requirements of the Government Project Delivery Framework, and the guidance and requirements for project delivery as set by NHSBSA Portfolio Management Directorate.

Time commitment and tenure

This is a full-time role to enable effective delivery of the role and execute your responsibilities in full. You are required to undertake this role until achievement of programme close, planned for 2030, or once the existing solution has been decommissioned. Progress towards this will be reflected in your personal objectives. Any changes to the agreed time commitment or tenure of the role, as set out above, will require both departmental and IPA consent.

Objectives and performance criteria

The policy intent supported by this programme is defined in the approved outline business case (OBC) as follows:

2.3 Alignment to existing policies and strategies

2.3.1.1 The Electronic Staff Record (ESR) service and transformed future NHS workforce solution will not exist in isolation. It exists not only to support legislative compliance with respect to payroll and HR activities but as a key enabler that supports:

• the delivery of initiatives being proposed in both existing and emerging national and local workforce strategies
• DHSC’s pay and pensions policy including the work of the NHS Pay Review Body on the pay of NHS staff paid on Agenda for Change terms and conditions, and the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ remuneration
• improved sharing of information and system integration
• the pursuit of best value for the NHS

Any proposed changes to scope which impacts on this intent or the realisation of benefits must be authorised by NHSBSA main board and may be subject to further levels of approval.

The vision and mission of the programme, in delivering the future NHS workforce solution to employees within the NHS, is defined as follows:

Vision: “Helping you to perform your best every day.”

Mission: “The solution empowers you to carry out your role effectively and efficiently, supporting you throughout your NHS working life. It is accessible, easy to use, and provides the data and insights to enable better decision - making and planning, as a catalyst for better healthcare.”

The programme objectives, as informed by an extensive discovery phase and defined in the OBC are set out below.

Spending objectives

Spending objective 1: to maintain service security, stability and continuity ensuring each user organisation has access to a robust and reliable workforce solution and workforce data beyond the expiry of the current ESR contract. Both transition and transformation of the services must be achieved with no breaks to service or agreed functional coverage.

Spending objective 2: to provide a holistic user experience to maximize ease of use, user centricity, simplicity, consistency, accessibility and inclusivity across channels and devices.

Spending objective 3: to enable the provision of high quality workforce data with assurance on data integrity and management in the delivery of the emerging health and social care landscape.

Spending objective 4: to adopt a fit for purpose operating and commercial model providing flexibility to allow the services to adapt to future changes in requirements and changes across the health and social care landscape. This will include technology, application, integration, interoperability, configuration, enhancement and exit flexibility.

Your personal objectives and performance criteria

Your personal objectives and performance criteria which relate to the programme are:

• continue to set the foundations for the new NHS future workforce solution
• continue to put in place the necessary programme organisational structure and resources to deliver the programme and prepare the operating model for transformational delivery and ongoing operation
• complete assessment of final tenders by end of April 2025
• receive approval of final business case by DHSC, Cabinet Office and HM Treasury enabling contract award to successful bidder by end of August 2025
• working with the wider NHS system, continue optimizing use of existing ESR platform across NHS organizations so that readiness for migration to the new workforce solution is enhanced
• working with the wider NHS system, continue preparing for organisations for transformational change readiness in line with broader NHS England and NHS Wales people digital strategies, as agreed
• design, configure, build and assure the future workforce solution meets the specified requirements ahead of pilot implementation by 2027
• roll out the future workforce solution across organizations in England and Wales in line with the implementation plan agreed with the successful bidder, no later than 2030
• decommission the existing ESR legacy application following migration of all NHS organisations to the future workforce solution by 2030

You are expected to run your project in accordance with the Government Functional Standard for Project Delivery, the other functional standards as applicable to this programme and the requirements of the Government Project Delivery Framework.

Extent and limit of accountability

Finance and controls

HM Treasury spending controls will apply on the basis set out within the department’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 HM Treasury spending team. You should consult departmental finance colleagues on how to go about this.

You should 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.

The overall estimated budget, resourcing requirements and tolerances for your project or programme will be agreed as part of the approval process. You will be expected to deliver within these tolerances and report quarterly on these as part of GMPP reporting.

You should operate, at all times, within the rules set out in Managing public money. In addition, you must be mindful of, and act in accordance with, the specific HM Treasury delegated limits and Cabinet Office controls relevant to the NHS Future Workforce Solution.

Delegated authority

As SRO of the NHS Future Workforce solution this letter confirms the same delegated authority to approve expenditure as a Director (of up to £1m) as per the Standard Financial Instructions. You are also authorized to:

• agree project rescheduling within the tolerances described by the NHSBSA Portfolio Delivery Framework, but rescheduling beyond that must be agreed with DHSC workforce Policy Director and NHSBSA Portfolio Board or NHSBSA Main Board
• recommend to DHSC Workforce Policy Director and the NHSBSA Main Board the need to either pause or terminate the programme where necessary and in a timely manner

These authority limits are subject to change and other conditions or tolerances may be set as part of the business case approval and ongoing monitoring processes which you should then operate within.

Where issues arise which take you outside of these authority limits which you are unable to resolve, you are responsible for escalating these issues to the DHSC Workforce Policy Director and NHSBSA leadership team or NHSBSA Main Board.

Appointments

You should maintain the appointment of a full-time programme director to support you in the management of this programme and make other appointments, as required, for the control and delivery of your programme within your delegated authority.

Governance and assurance

You should pay attention to ensuring effective governance for your programme including the establishment of a programme board with appropriate membership and clear terms of reference.

As primary owner, you must ensure that the programme secures business case approval from the DHSC Investment Committee and HM Treasury as well as any relevant Cabinet Office spend controls. You should also ensure that the programme remains aligned to the strategic outcomes, costs, timescales and benefits in line with the approved business case as well as monitoring the context within which the programme is being delivered to ensure it remains valid.

Where a change impacts the scope, costs, benefits or planned delivery milestones agreed as part of an agreed business case, you are responsible for following the agreed change request approval process and setting a new, approved, business case baseline.

You should ensure that an accounting officer assessment is completed alongside the approval of the outline business case and that this is published on GOV.UK as part of the government’s transparency requirements on major projects. You are responsible for bringing to the attention of the accounting officer any material changes in the Digitising Social Care programme which could require a new accounting officer assessment to be completed and published. Guidance on completing accounting officer assessments for major projects is available from HM Treasury.

Although you are directly accountable for this programme, you are also expected to support delivery of the department’s overall strategic objectives. This means that you are expected to work collaboratively with other SROs and project directors in adjacent projects and programmes and with the DHSC and NHSBSA portfolio management office and portfolio directors to manage dependencies, resources, schedules, and funding to support delivery of the overall change the department needs to achieve its strategic objectives.

You should ensure that appropriate and proportionate assurance is in place and agree on the level and frequency of assurance reviews through the maintenance of an integrated assurance and approvals plan. You should develop this plan and its maintenance in collaboration with the departmental assurance co-ordinator and the IPA.

Programme status, reporting and transparency requirements

The programme status at the date of your appointment is reflected in the most recent quarterly return on the programme to the IPA and is the agreed position as you assume formal ownership of the programme.

You are responsible for ensuring the honest and timely reporting on the position of the programme to the IPA while it remains on the GMPP and for providing reports and information to the DHSC and NHSBSA portfolio management office as required. Information on the programme will be published annually by the IPA.

You are responsible for publishing on GOV.UK a summary of the accounting officer assessment completed in line with the approval of the outline business case and summaries of any subsequent assessments should they be required.

Development and support

As SRO of a GMPP programme, you are required to complete the Major Projects Leadership Academy programme and you have now commenced this programme as part of Cohort 41.

To widen experience and understanding of the role, SROs are also expected to become accredited assurance reviewers and to lead or participate in such reviews for other government departments, the wider public sector, and other areas of DHSC as appropriate. Becoming an assurance reviewer and completing a review will form part of your time at the Major Projects Leadership Academy. To maintain your accreditation, you will be required to participate in a review at least once every 12 months. The department will assist you in securing the necessary resources to support the programme, and will set clear guidance, requirements and standards, which align to the Government Functional Standard on Project Delivery, to enable good governance and effective delivery. You will be part of the department’s cohort of major project leaders who will be expected to support each other, share good practice, lessons learned and to collectively develop solutions. You should liaise with the department’s head of profession to discuss the maintenance and development of your delivery and leadership skills.

Support, advice and assurance will be available to you from the IPA throughout the programme’s time on the GMPP.

The DHSC Portfolio Oversight Board and NHSBSA Portfolio Board will provide ongoing oversight and support and will take steps to help resolve and escalate risks, issues or constraints that are acting as a blocker to successful delivery.

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

Yours sincerely,

Sir Chris Wormald
Permanent Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Care

Nick Smallwood
Chief Executive Officer, Infrastructure and Projects Authority

Michael Brodie CBE
Chief Executive Officer, NHS Business Services Authority

Confirmation of acceptance of appointment

I confirm that I accept the appointment of senior responsible owner for the programme, including my personal accountability for implementation, as set out in the letter above.

Jeff Pasternack
25 November 2024