Help to Grow Digital Programme: Accounting officer assessment 2021
Source: data.gov.uk (2022-07-20)

BEIS Government Major Projects Portfolio data. Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Government Major Projects Portfolio data that supports the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) annual report.

Classification if appropriate 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ACCOUNTING OFFICER ASSESSMENT OF THE FULL BUSINESS CASE FOR HELP 
TO GROW DIGITAL PROGRAMME 
 
Introduction 
It is normal practice for Accounting Officers to scrutinise significant policy proposals or plans 
to start or vary major projects, and then assess whether they measure up to the standards 
set out in Managing Public Money. From April 2017, the government has committed to 
make a summary of the key points from these assessments available to Parliament when 
an accounting officer has agreed an assessment of projects within the Government’s Major 
Projects Portfolio. This Accounting Officer Assessment considers the Help to Grow Digital 
Programme.  
 
Background 
Help to Grow: Digital is a new UK-wide Small Medium Enterprise (SME) digital adoption 
Programme to boost firm-level productivity at a total estimated whole life cost of £296m over 
three years from December 2021 to November 2024. The UK has a long-standing 
productivity challenge at firm level. Evidence shows that increasing technology adoption and 
improving leadership and management skills in our SMEs can help to address this issue 
and narrow the gap to the UK’s international competitors.  
 
This scheme will consist of a new online platform where businesses can access learning 
and support on software to help them save time and money, and a voucher to purchase 
software at a discount. Support will be provided through interactive tools and technology-
specific guides, and the voucher will provide up to 50% discount on the costs of buying new 
software, up to a value of £5,000 for the first year. Help to Grow: Digital is expected to help 
up to 100,000 businesses adopt new digital technologies over three years. Another 
component of the programme includes trialling approaches to one-to-one advice services.  
 
Help to Grow Management, which is designed to upskill leadership and management 
capability in SMEs, went live in May 2021 and is a separate project.  However, the 
marketing, communications, and business engagement for the two projects will be 
undertaken jointly to ensure clear and joined up messaging to business.  
 
This Accounting Officer Assessment was made of the Help to Grow: Digital Programme at 
Full Business Case stage; the approval of which allowed the programme to appoint the Help 
to Grow: Digital grant administrator. I have made the assessment as the Accounting Officer 
for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.  
 
 
Meg Hillier MP 
Chair of the Public Accounts Committee 
 
9 December 2021 
 
Sarah Munby 
Permanent Under-Secretary of State 
1 Victoria Street 
London 
SW1H 0ET 
T:xx-xxxx-xxxx 
E: xxx@xxx.xx 
 
 

 
 
ASSESSMENT AGAINST THE ACCOUNTING OFFICER STANDARDS 
 
Regularity 
The Help to Grow Digital scheme is within the Department’s legal powers under section 8 of 
the Industrial Development Act (IDA) 1982 with approval granted by the Industrial 
Development Act Board (IDAB). The motion for spending under section 8 was approved by 
the House of Commons on 22 September 2021. At full business case stage, the focus has 
been on compliance with public law and procurement regulations. I have assessed the 
programme in view of relevant public law and procurement regulation and found it be 
compliant. The programme is supported by scrutiny from external and BEIS legal advisers 
to ensure best practice has been applied across the programme development. 
 
Propriety 
The Help to Grow Digital Programme has been approved at both Outline and Full Business 
Case stage by the BEIS Project Investment Committee, the Cabinet Office Commercial 
Spend Controls and the Treasury Approval Point process. As a result, this has my approval 
to proceed.  
 
Value for Money 
The assessment shows that the scheme is expected to represent good value for money and 
therefore would be a sound use of public funds. The current delivery model approach 
requires BEIS to deliver a range of services for a short period of time until the delivery 
partner takes over service delivery. The impact to value for money is low given the 
programmes overall high net present value.  
 
Feasibility 
The programme has undergone a Gateway 3 and Gateway 4 review in September and 
November respectively, which has provided confidence in delivery within the programme 
timescales. The reviews have confirmed the deliverability of the programme and readiness 
for service. In light of the approvals and recommendations received, I have assessed 
relevant risks around procurement timescales and found that the correct mitigations are in 
place to allow for the supplier to deliver against the necessary requirements.  
 
There is a significant risk around meeting the full target number of small and medium 
businesses that Ministers have asked to be reached (up to 100,000). This is an ambitious 
target, representing around twenty percent of the target group and whilst there is risk in 
whether this number is feasible to reach, I do not judge this a sufficient reason not to 
launch.  This is because the overall scheme design is feasible to deliver, the programme will 
still deliver clear value for money even if the full targets are not met and the scheme scope 
and eligibility criteria will be kept under review, consciously evolving from the initial go live 
offering based on evidence, stakeholder views and user feedback. 
 
A Gateway 5 review is planned for April 2022 with a focus on the operational delivery phase 
of the programme. There will be a series of Infrastructure and Project Authority-led reviews 
that will take place over the life of the programme to provide ongoing assurance on the 
programme’s ability to deliver the intended benefits and outcomes. 
 
 

 
Conclusion 
As the BEIS Accounting Officer I have considered and approved this assessment of Help to 
Grow Digital programme. I have prepared this summary to set out the key points which 
informed my decision. If any of these factors change materially during the lifetime of this 
project, I undertake to prepare a revised summary, setting out my assessment of them. 
 
This summary will be published on the government’s website (GOV.UK). Copies will be 
deposited in the Libraries of the House and sent to the Comptroller and Auditor General and 
Treasury Officer of Accounts. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sarah Munby