Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme: SRO appointment letter (April 2021)
Source: data.gov.uk (2022-06-21)

Government Major Projects Portfolio Senior Responsible Owners. The government is committed to publishing lists of the SROs for projects on the GMPP.
To address this commitment the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) publishes lists of the SROs responsible for government major projects.
This list may be searched to locate the names of Senior Responsible Owners (SROs) of the Department's projects with fall within the Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP).

Nick Smallwood 
Chief Executive 
1 Horse Guards Road 
London  
SW1A 2HQ 
T: xx-xxxx-xxxx 
E: xxx@xxx.xx 
Sarah Munby 
Permanent Under-Secretary of State 
1 Victoria Street 
London  
SW1E 0ET 
T: xx-xxxx-xxxx 
E: xxx@xxx.xx 
Selvin Brown 
Senior Responsible Owner 
Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme 1 Victoria Street 
London 
SW1H 0ET 
E: xxx@xxx.xx 
19 April 2021 
APPOINTMENT AS SENIOR RESPONSIBLE OWNER (SRO) FOR GREEN 
HOMES GRANT VOUCHER SCHEME 
This letter formalises your appointment as Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) of the Green 
Homes Voucher Grant Scheme from the 1st October 2020. Ben Golding, Energy 
Efficiency and Local, Policy Director, previously held appointment as Senior Responsible 
Owner from June 2020 following the intention to announce the scheme up to 30th 
September 2020. 
This project sits on the Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP). These 
responsibilities form part of your role as Director, Net Zero Buildings Delivery, for which 
you are accountable to DG Energy Technology and Clean Growth (ETCG) who is 
accountable to Sarah Munby. The responsible Minister for your project is Lord Callanan. 
The work of the project is overseen by the Department’s Executive Committee and its 
supporting sub-committees. Your role as SRO will be reflected in the objectives you agree 
with DG ETCG. 
As SRO you have personal responsibility for delivery of the Green Homes Grant Voucher 
Scheme and will be held accountable for the delivery of its objectives and policy intent; 
for securing and protecting its vision, for ensuring that it is governed responsibly, reported 
honestly, escalated appropriately and for influencing constructively the context, culture 
and operating environment of the project. In addition to these roles and responsibilities 
you will also be responsible for managing the risks and issues for the project, as well as,  

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ensuring that these and any other blockers impacting the delivery of the project, its 
intended benefits and or outcomes are escalated as soon as reasonably practicable. 
You will carry out this role alongside your other responsibilities and must ensure that you 
allocate sufficient time to enable the effective delivery of the role and responsibilities, as 
set out in Annex A. This will be periodically reviewed to ensure that an appropriate 
balance is maintained across your portfolio of activities. 
You are accountable for ensuring that the project is governed in line with BEIS’s 
governance framework. The principles set out in the revised Osmotherly Guidance, 
published in October 2014 will also apply from the date of this letter. That includes the 
requirement to publish this letter on gov.uk. 
The revised Osmotherly Guidance establishes that SROs for major projects will be 
directly accountable to Parliament for the implementation of the project. Once the project 
is in its implementation phase, you will be expected to account for and explain the 
decisions and actions you have taken to deliver the project for which you have personal 
responsibility, against the business case, within the context of the Department’s corporate 
objectives and as a member of the Department’s senior leadership team. It will remain for 
the responsible Minister to account for the relevant policy decisions and development, 
including accounting for decisions that materially affect the project’s business case, 
though the guidance makes clear that as SRO you are expected to be able to explain 
such decisions. 
A description of generic SRO roles and responsibilities is attached at Annex A and you 
are expected to follow the principles it sets out. You will also want to familiarise yourself 
with the guidance “Giving Evidence to Select Committees – Guidance for Civil Servants” 
and with the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) guidance on management of 
major projects: (https://www.gov.uk/government/policy-teams/major-projects-authority). 
This includes the Government Functional Standard for Project Delivery to which the 
project should adhere and utilise. 
Your accountability to Parliament sits alongside your accountabilities under the Civil 
Service Code, your role in supporting the Accounting Officer, and your membership of 
the BEIS Senior Leadership Team.  
This Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme SRO role will be a part-time role accounting 
for 30% of your working week. 
Tenure of position 
You are expected to remain in post at least until end January 2022 which aligns with the 
completion of the Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme. 
Your tenure in this post will be regularly reviewed with DG ETCG, taking into account the 
benefits of continuity, the capability needed to lead this project through its development, 

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planning, delivery and evaluation phases; the length of these phases, your development 
as a member of the project delivery profession within the Civil Service, and the 
Department’s ability to deploy its senior leadership team appropriately. You should ensure 
that you have agreed with DG ETCG, appropriate succession planning for key personnel 
in the project. 
Objectives and Performance Criteria 
The original policy intent supported by this project was to provide an economic stimulus 
to the energy efficiency sector as part of driving a green economic recovery following the 
impacts of Covid-19. The project was to deliver up to £383 Million by the end of 2020/21 
through a combination of vouchers to fund energy efficiency projects. The scheme was 
expected to support energy efficiency upgrades to up to 600,000 homes, delivering 
carbon savings as well as energy bill savings of up to £600 per household. 
The scheme is now in run off following a period of operation and was closed to new 
applications on the 31st of March 2021. It will provide up to £355.9 Million, including VAT, 
of funding support to the Energy Performance and Low Carbon Heat industries. The 
scheme is now expected to support energy efficiency upgrades to up to 99,500 homes, 
delivering carbon savings as well as energy bill savings. Updated energy bill savings data 
is still being formulated, and although it is too early to give a definitive figure, the scheme 
is currently seeing an average of £105 per home.  This is based on forecast figures from 
31 March 2021. 
Proposed changes to the project scope which impact on this intent or benefits realisation 
must be authorised using the project’s governance framework, in conjunction with the 
Department’s governance framework and may be subject to further levels of approval. 
Further details are set out below. Your objectives and performance criteria with respect 
to this project are reflected in your performance agreement form, agreed with DG ETCG. 
Extent and limit of accountability 
Finance and Controls 
The overall budget for the Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme is set out below and in 
your letter of Delegated Authority; this is issued to you annually by the Department’s 
finance team and may be updated from time to time. This letter is the means by which 
you are held to account for the budgets and other resources for which you are 
responsible. 
The allocation of Departmental resources is subject to review each year during business 
planning and as SRO you are expected engage actively in the business planning process. 
The Department explicitly recognises that you will need to balance your responsibilities 
in respect of the project with your responsibilities relating to the wider work of the 
department as part of BEIS’s cadre of senior leaders. Decisions on resource allocation 
will reflect the need to strike a balance across the entirety of BEIS’s portfolio of projects. 

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HMT spending controls will apply on the basis set out within BEIS’s delegated authority 
letter. Where the Project exceeds the delegated authority set by HMT, the appropriate 
Treasury approval process will apply. The details must be agreed with your HMT 
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, HMT approval 
will be required, regardless of whether the project expenditure exceeds the delegated 
authority set by HMT. If in doubt about whether approval is required you should, in the 
first instance, consult your Finance Business Partner and the BEIS Implementation and 
Delivery Directorate before raising with the relevant HMT spending team. 
The overall CDEL budget for the project is £355.9 million, including VAT. Your staffing 
and project team support budget is £84.187 million, broken down as follows: 
Year 0 (£m) 
Year 1 (£m) 
Year 2 (£m) 
Total (£m) 
CDEL 
Capital 
35.900 
320.000 
0.000 
355.900 
Financial Transactions 
0.000 
0.000 
0.000 
0.000 
RDEL 
Programme 
36.911 
24.380 
0.158 
61.449 
Admin 
2.863 
4.705 
0.000 
7.568 
Total 
75.674 
xx-xxxx-xxxx 
0.158 
424.917 
The expenditure figures, pending further approval at PIC and as stated above, provide 
cover to 31st January 2022 and for a supplementary benefit monitoring activity beyond 
that date. In moving towards the milestone of 31st January 2022, you should be aware of 
the funding conditions outlined in the settlement letters issued by HMT in respect of Net 
Zero Decarbonisation (Summer Economic Update). Funding in FY22/23 will be subject to 
provisions of the Spending Review in 2021. 
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 Treasury 
delegated limits and Cabinet Office controls relevant to the Green Homes Grant Scheme. 
Information on these controls can be found here: Cabinet Office controls. 
Delegated Departmental / project authority 

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You are authorised to approve expenditure in line with your delegated authority letter. 
●
you are authorised to approve expenditure of £5m Capital, £10m Programme,
£2.5m Admin.
●
you are authorised to agree project rescheduling within agreed milestones (31st
March 2021), but rescheduling beyond that must be agreed with PIC.
You should use your project’s governance framework, in conjunction with the 
Department’s governance framework, as the means by which any necessary 
authorisation is sought for any changes to your project’s scope, milestones or scheduling. 
The Departmental Integrated Assurance and Approvals Strategy (IAAS) sets out the limits 
and conditions of any approvals as well as the process to seek approval to materially 
change the scope of an approved project. This may include recommending the need to 
either pause or terminate the project where necessary in a timely manner.  
Where issues arise which you are unable to resolve within delegated responsibilities, you 
are responsible for escalating these issues to the relevant governance body such as P&R, 
Accounting Officer and HMT in a timely manner. This includes making any such 
recommendation to pause or terminate the project as required. 
Project Status 
The Project Status at the date of your appointment is reflected in the most recent quarterly 
return on the project to the Infrastructure and Projects Authority / monthly delivery 
confidence assessment to ExCo. This is the agreed position as you assume formal 
ownership of the project. Project progress is reviewed regularly by the Department’s 
Executive Committee or its supporting committees. You should take active steps to 
ensure you escalate in a timely manner any significant issues that will materially affect 
the delivery of the project for which you are responsible as set out in the business case. 
To facilitate progress monitoring and to ensure that appropriate support is provided, you 
are required to provide accurate, relevant and timely performance reporting to P&R and 
ExCo committees as set out in the BEIS Performance Reporting Framework. If the Green 
Homes Grant Voucher Scheme is not already reporting, you are responsible for making 
contact with the Corporate Reporting team (xxx@xxx.xx) to set up 
monthly performance reporting via ORB (Online Reporting in BEIS) for the 
project/programme. 
We recognise that you are being asked to take on the SRO responsibilities in extremely 
challenging circumstances. We understand the constraints placed on the project at its 
inception, the issues surrounding procurement of a supplier, and that the supplier had 
been selected prior to you becoming SRO, and that the ongoing performance issues 
began before you took on the role. We acknowledge that these have been reflected in 
assurance activity that has taken place to date. 

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Professional Development and Support 
As an SRO, it is expected that you will continue your on-going professional development, 
including through IPA mandated training. Simon Hulme as Head of Project Delivery 
Profession will be able to assist you in in this process. In the event that someone else 
takes the role in the future, you will be informed of the change.  
As SRO of a GMPP project you are required to attend the MPLA as soon as reasonably 
practicable. The BEIS Implementation and Delivery Directorate will provide you with the 
necessary details and support you in your application. 
You should consult the SRO page on the Project Delivery Hub which has a number of 
resources available to support you. There is a Guide and Toolkit which is designed to 
help you lead your project by explaining the component parts of the role and your 
responsibilities. There is also the IPA document, The Role of the SRO. It sets out: 
●
the key requirements and accountabilities of the SRO role, also drawing on
the project delivery functional standard, as well as the Osmotherly rules;
●
how the SRO’s role relates to other key leadership roles in major projects,
particularly the Accounting Officer and the project director;
●
best practice on appointments, development and support for SROs - drawing on
the experience of existing project leaders across government.
The SRO page also links to The Art of Brilliance. This is designed to practically help you 
deliver your SRO role. 
BEIS also has a Delivery Leadership Group for SROs which can provide peer support for 
your development. 
We would like to take this opportunity to wish you success in your role as SRO. 
Please return a signed copy of this letter to the BEIS Implementation and Delivery 
Directorate (xxx@xxx.xx). 
Signatures 
Nick Smallwood 
Chief Executive, Infrastructure and 
Projects Authority 
Sarah Munby 
Permanent Secretary, BEIS 

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I confirm that I accept the details of my role, including my personal accountability for 
development, delivery and implementation as detailed in the letter above.  
Name of SRO: Selvin Brown 
Signature of SRO: 
Date: 2 July 2021 

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SRO Role and Responsibilities  
Annex A 
The Role of the Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) 
You are personally accountable for ensuring the ongoing delivery of the Green 
Homes Grant Voucher Scheme. You are responsible for securing the resources 
necessary for the success of the project within those available to BEIS and for 
ensuring that the related implementation and transition activities realise the agreed 
objectives and benefits. In doing so you should balance the need to support the 
Accounting Officer to help BEIS reach an affordable settlement which reflects the 
department’s priorities and to deliver value for money across BEIS. 
You will be personally accountable to Parliamentary Select Committees and be 
expected to explain the decisions and actions you have taken. This could include where 
a Minister has intervened to change the project during the implementation phase in a 
way which has implications for the cost and/or timeline of implementation. You will be 
able to disclose your advice about any such changes.  
You must ensure the effectiveness of the governance, assurance and project 
management arrangements and maintain them throughout the life of the project. You 
should adopt best practice and be prepared to justify any deviation from it, in line with 
guidance published by the Cabinet Office, specifically the IPA’s Government Functional 
Standard for Project Delivery. 
An SRO will: 
●
Be a visible, engaged and active project leader, not a figurehead;
●
Deliver the agreed outcomes and benefits;
●
Create an open, honest and positive culture committed to delivering at pace;
●
Challenge senior officers and Ministers when appropriate and escalate quickly;
●
Provide appropriate support, steer and strategic focus to the Project Director and
ensure that they have a clear and current letter of appointment; and
●
Have sufficient time, experience and the right skills to carry the full responsibilities
of the role.
Specific SRO accountabilities:  
Ensure that the project is set up for success 
●
Ensure that the project is set-up to make an unambiguous and demonstrable link to
strategic policy;
●
Translate this policy intent into clear deliverables which are established and agreed
with senior stakeholders;
●
Carry out a robust and commercially viable options appraisal, which balances risk
with opportunity, as part of initial project feasibility;
●
Establish a firm business case for the project during the initiation/definition phase
and ensure that any planned change continues to be aligned with the strategic need;
●
Identify and secure the necessary investment for the business case (this includes
both budget and operational resource);
●
Design and implement robust, appropriate and transparent project governance;

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●
Build strong and effective relationships with key stakeholders, justifying their trust
and retaining their confidence, and obtain their commitment to benefits realisation.
Ensure that the project meets its objectives and delivers the projected benefits 
●
Gain agreement to the project objectives and benefits amongst stakeholders,
including Ministers where appropriate;
●
Understand the broader government perspective and its impact on the project;
●
Ensure the strategic fit of the project objectives and benefits;
●
Agree a clear and simple approach to performance management and monitor
delivery of the objectives and benefits, taking appropriate action where necessary
to ensure their successful delivery.
Develop the project organisation structure and plan 
●
Ensure that there is a coherent organisation structure and appropriately detailed
project plan;
●
Build the right team, securing necessary resources and skills and providing clear
lines of accountability;
●
Provide appropriate support, steer and strategic focus to the Project Director.
Monitor and take control of progress 
●
Monitor and control the progress of the project at a strategic level, being honest and
frank about project progress, risks and issues; Ensure that any changes to agreed
project benefits are flagged appropriately within project governance and that the
business case is updated accordingly (throughout project lifecycle);
●
Ensure that the integrity of the project is maintained and speak truth to power –
including to Parliamentary Select Committees;
●
Communicate effectively with senior stakeholders regarding project progress and
provide clear, appropriate and delivery-focused decisions and advice to the Project
Director.
Ensure problem resolution and referral processes are appropriate and effective 
●
Identify, understand and drive the successful mitigation of project risks;
●
Escalate serious issues quickly and with confidence to senior management and/or
Ministers;
●
Develop strong and effective engagement between the project team and its
stakeholders and sponsors;
●
Ensure that communication processes are effective and that the project’s objectives
and deliverables continue to be consistent with the organisation’s strategic direction.
Ensure that the project is subject to review at appropriate stages 
●
Recognise the value of robust project review and ensure it occurs at key points in
the project lifecycle, particularly at the initiation stage;
●
Make certain that any recommendations or concerns from reviews are met or
addressed in a timely manner;

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●
In the event of a “red” or “amber-red” review or a red or amber-red quarterly GMPP
review rating, ensure that the Performance and Risk and Projects and Investments
Committees are made aware of the situation.
Manage formal project closure 
●
Formally close the project and ensure that the lessons learned are documented
within the final evaluation report and disseminated to key stakeholders;
●
Ensure that the post implementation review takes place and that the output is
communicated to the appropriate stakeholders;
●
Ensure a plan for both long term benefits realisation and on-going sustainability is
agreed with key stakeholders as part of the process of moving the project to
“business as usual”.