UK Treasury unsure about joining £1.7B program it is funding

The UK's National Audit Office has flagged that HM Treasury has yet to make a formal commitment to joining the Matrix shared services cluster — a £1.7 billion government ERP and HR modernization program that Treasury itself is largely funding. The Matrix cluster, led by DSIT, plans to migrate eight departments to Workday cloud-based finance and HR software. Treasury and the Department for Education are hesitant because they already run modern, highly customized ERP systems and want clearer cost-benefit data before committing. Without their participation, the program's Net Present Value drops from £185 million to £109 million. The Cabinet Office insists joining is not optional, but the absence of formal commitments complicates planning and financial assumptions underpinning the business case.