AWS hosting recharge policies (FY 2026 to 2027)
We recharge all Amazon Web Services (AWS) hosting costs to your service team. When you request a new AWS account, you must provide:
- your organisation’s cost code
- contact details for your finance representative
- contact details for your technical lead
Recharge model
The recharge includes:
- 100% of your AWS account cost
- a 5% service fee
- shared platform infrastructure costs (about 2% pro rata)
- Enterprise support costs (about 7% to 10% pro rata, based on total spend across the Cabinet Office)
Overall discount
Your service team receives a net discount of about 8% on AWS costs.
We calculate this by taking the 22% OVGA2 discount and subtracting the 5% service fee, 2% infrastructure cost, and 7% Enterprise support cost.
What the charges cover
Cross-government discount
The Cabinet Office uses the cross-government OVGA2 AWS contract to secure a 22% discount. We pass this discount directly to your account. This saving offsets the 5% service fee.
Security and compliance
The service fee and shared platform costs fund central security controls. This includes threat monitoring from the Cabinet Office Security Operating Centre (SOC), automated compliance checks, and standard security guardrails.
These controls ensure all accounts meet government data protection standards. This means you do not have to build these security services yourself.
Contract management
The service fee covers the administration of the AWS contract. This includes vendor relations, centralised billing, financial reporting, and account provisioning. This removes the administrative and procurement burden from your service team.
Shared infrastructure and support
Sharing costs gives your team access to 24-hour AWS Enterprise Support and foundational infrastructure managed by the Platform Engineering team. Sharing these costs pro rata makes high-tier enterprise resources affordable and accessible to all teams, regardless of their size.