So shared services between departments is actually starting, and DWP and HMRC will be the first departmental suppliers of HR and finance to their smaller Whitehall peers.

Rumour has it that some of the IT industry is miffed, disappointed to see the many billions of pounds forecast by then-head of shared services David Myers disappear at a stroke from the cabinet secretary. But for the taxpayer the development is undoubtedly a good one - in theory, at least.

How it will go in practice is anybody's guess.

The Cabinet Office is to be the first to go, and expects its HR/finance to be run by DWP by the end of the year. In the process the truly thorny issues - such as how the Cabinet Office pays, and what happens if DWP screws up - will have to be addressed.

The bigger question buried here is about the role of DWP. It is already one of Whitehall's biggest departments, both in terms of staff numbers and citizen transactions. As such, it is well-placed to lead on joined-up issues - such as the use of its Citizen Information System as the basis for the Home Office's ID card scheme, or its takeover of the DirectGov citizen portal from Cabinet Office.

And there is also a whisper that the Government Gateway authentication service may be looking for a new home. Out of the three contenders - DWP, HMRC and the ID and Passport Service - apparently DWP is the current favourite.

Notwithstanding the fact that the wind may blow a different way tomorrow, there could be benefits to DWP taking over the world. It certainly makes sense for cross-government stuff to be run from the same place, not least because it makes it easier to spin out into a separate organisation once the services are mature.

But, and it is a big but, what looks logical may still prove unworkable.

First, DWP has its core business to consider. Getting side-tracked from pensions, benefits and helping people back to work may not be the best choice.

Second, DWP has some of the most swingeing efficiency targets. In the context of maintaining its enormous workload with less resources - and the major process change that will involve - taking on extra bits and pieces may not be the smartest move.

Third, what does all this mean for EDS, the department's main IT supplier?

It is early days, and no decisions have yet been made, but these are certainly interesting times.