Blue passports, French service provider: Atos bags £21m UK Passport Office deal
- Reference: 1623408429
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/06/11/atos_21m_passport_office/
- Source link:
The initial term of the deal is for two years, with the opportunity to extend for a further three years. The estimated value of the contract is for the maximum five years.
The deal is part of Her Majesty's Passport Office's Digital Future Services programme and has been awarded from Crown Commercial Services Technology, which takes a 1 per cent fee on contracts it facilitates.
[1]
A [2]contract award notice said the spending under the contract would "be via short, specific work packages for the support, maintenance and development of... applications and services."
[3]Capgemini scores £150m contract to help Student Loan Company overcome its IT problems 5 years after £50m superfail
[4]Anyone for Palantir? UK.gov names gaggle of vendors to fight for contracts in £1.2bn back office application framework
[5]UK government rings £1.5bn dinner bell for software design and implementation, 54 vendors come running
[6]Atos handed £1.5bn to run IT for UK government-founded pension trust Nest
In 2017, [7]a government IT transformation report said the Passport Office's paper-based case working system would become completely digital. It said checks would be automated where possible and be "supplemented by extensive use of data analytics."
To be introduced by 2020, the new initiatives were intended to save the taxpayer more than £80m. The same document said the Passport Office would "make greater use of the data it holds, offering data verification services more widely to the public, private sector and other parts of government to combat identity fraud and protect citizens."
[8]
In June last year, [9]Sopra Steria was appointed by the Home Office to build a system to validate and digitise passport application forms and supporting evidence. The five-year contract added to an 11-year relationship between Sopra Steria and HM Passport Office. HMPO awarded DXC a 10-year deal in 2009.
The Passport Office serves more than 8 million customers each year and handles registration of key life events such as births, deaths, marriages, and adoptions in England and Wales through the General Register Office.
[10]
Around 85 per cent of eligible UK residents currently hold a valid passport. ®
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[1] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YMOInJ8b48J9fpVzwNewAgAAAAA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[2] https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/ef90a2b3-8c49-4f51-8c65-90acc8c3d332
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2021/04/22/cagmini_150m_deal_student_loan_company/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2021/04/21/uk_government_awards_a_gaggle/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2021/04/08/uk_software_framework_agreement/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2021/03/10/atos_nest_contract/
[7] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-transformation-strategy-2017-to-2020/government-transformation-strategy-appendix-case-studies#case-study-4-hm-passport-office
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YMOInJ8b48J9fpVzwNewAgAAAAA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.soprasteria.co.uk/thinking/press-releases/details/sopra-steria-to-deliver-new-hm-passport-office-service--iron-mountain-to-be-partners-in-digital-transformation-project
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YMOInJ8b48J9fpVzwNewAgAAAAA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: backdoor identity card
Basically using the passport as part of a 2FA like other countries do with their ID cards
Re: backdoor identity card
Or some sort of official authentication system.
You don't need to do much to get more secure than 2 utility bills, date of birth, postcode etc for 'authentication'.
So, this contract is for doing what the previous one didn't ?
The thing from 2017 that was supposed to revolutionize data treatment, remove paper, and be delivered in 2020, is where ?
Ah, silly me, nowhere, of course.
UK Gov IT at its best : promising the Moon, barely delivering a lorry.
Re: barely delivering a lorry.
if your definition of lorry includes [1]a three wheeler driven by Inspector Clouseau
[1] https://youtu.be/wSiqYWsFXoM?t=63
Re: barely delivering a lorry.
Inspector Clouseau?
In the post Brexit revival of the franchise, it is "Inspector Boris"
Re: So, this contract is for doing what the previous one didn't ?
Crown Commercial Services Technology, which takes a 1 per cent fee on contracts it facilitates.
If I were naïve, I'd say that looks like an incentive to have higher costs. Luckily, I realise that all Crown servants are actually 100% irreproachable.
Re: So, this contract is for doing what the previous one didn't ?
Have you used much of the IT web stuff for UK gov? Some of it is amazingly elegant and effective.
"become completely digital"
Digital might seem a no brainer for us techies, but the ONS says [1]In January to February 2020, 4% of households in Great Britain did not have internet access .
So are these to be excluded ?
[1] https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/householdcharacteristics/homeinternetandsocialmediausage/bulletins/internetaccesshouseholdsandindividuals/2020
Re: "become completely digital"
How do they book their travel?
Re: "become completely digital"
If they live in the small town I do via one of the two travel agents on the high street. I can only assume this glut of options for face to face trip advice is due to the high preponderance of retirees in the area and their mistrust of anything post 1990.
On the plus side it did mean once they were all vaccinated the rest of us got done about a month before the equivalent age group in the rest of the country. All five of us.
Re: "become completely digital"
It might be controversial - but eventually the only way to do a lot of stuff should be online.
Almost everyone has access to a computer (often through a library).
22% of the UK don't have access to a landline so it more exclusionary to offer a phone number to do things
Re: "become completely digital"
22% of the UK don't have access to a landline so it more exclusionary to offer a phone number to do things
Yeah, but how many just have a mobile?
Re: Yeah, but how many just have a mobile?
Yeah but...
I know several 'old crusties' who refuse to get a smartphone and rely on dumb phones.
"I don't need no stinking internet access on my phone' etc etc
'Those effing yanks will track everything I do'
etc etc etc
One of those 'crusties' is as I found out last week, a few months younger than myself.
Re: "become completely digital"
Mother in law is a UK pensioner
Low income so no smart phone, no internet access.
She struggles with technology anyway (she loves reading but refused offer of borrowing my e-Reader (loaded with lots of books) as she just could not get on with it).
Even if she could afford smartphone or computer & net, she would not use them.
Re: "become completely digital"
My mum only has a phone and a TV and I'm pleased because that is all she can manage. Making her do stuff online without help is basically inviting her to fail, or get hacked.
I do lots of stuff online but there should always be other options.
Re: "become completely digital"
You sound like my old program manager
"oh there's this employee whose left leg is 1mm longer than his other, and he speaks welsh as a 2nd language and he has an aunt called Mathilde... We need to build the entire solution around him"
Re: "become completely digital"
Actually, the issue is having Welsh as a first language. And it’s a very real issue!
Re: "become completely digital"
That's odd.
Many years ago I worked on some software for a "Welsh govt related project".
Requirement was for it to be multilingual
As we had no native Welsh speakers on our team it was all via resx, client got their team to provide the appropriate Welsh values so we could create a cy-GB equivalent of the en-GB resx. Though not quite as simple as that & in some cases we altered a few things to fit things that did not correspond very well to anything in Welsh (based on what the translators told us).
.. Though I imagine its hell as a Welsh speaker for non govt mandated websites
Re: "become completely digital"
Welsh signs gone wrong
https://cyclingwales.co.uk/badlytranslated.html
Re: "become completely digital"
4% without internet access. This really means 4% without internet access of their own, that they subscribe to themselves.
Very close to 100% have internet access because they can make use of access from a friend or other provider, who can guide them rather than leaving them to blunder on by themselves.
Fee
1% Fee? They should look to getting in on the Covid Contract lark - the commissions are more... to use a proper technical term juicy
Allez Les (Passeports) Bleus !!!
La France vous remercie pour vos contributions financières à notre bien-être!
♫♪ Allons, enfants de la patrie, Le jour de gloire est arrivé.....
Re: Allez Les (Passeports) Bleus !!!
Oui, mais tout de même, c'est Atos... Je dis que Brexit ou pas, ils ne méritent pas ça. Les pauvres...
backdoor identity card
the line where the Passport Office would
"make greater use of the data it holds, offering data verification services more widely to the public, private sector and other parts of government to combat identity fraud and protect citizens."
Just sounds like more and more places will be wanting to have passport details (for BS security / verification details) - they can **** off.