UK immigration systems delayed by extra Ukraine visa work
(2022/07/26)
- Reference: 1658824212
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2022/07/26/home_office_immigration_systems_delays/
- Source link:
A UK Home Office plan to modernize its immigration technology to achieve "operational efficiencies" and "optimize use of data" received a red rating from the government's projects watchdog as it struggles to process Ukrainian refugees.
In its [1]latest report , the Infrastructure and Projects Authority, a joint unit under the country's Cabinet Office and the Treasury, said the Immigration Platform Technologies (IPT) Programme had moved from an amber to a red warning in the 2022 report.
"The program's delivery plan continues to be impacted by the additional work required across the wider Immigration Portfolio to support the changes needed in the [new] core Atlas system to grant Visas required to support the Ukrainian refugee scheme," the report said.
[2]
The IPT Programme began in 2013 and was expected to be completed in 2017, with a whole life cost budget of £209 million (c $252 million), [3]according to Home Office documents .
[4]
[5]
A related [6]procurement notice said the Programme included a core case working system used by Home Office staff that was set to replace five existing systems that collectively support several thousand concurrent users, and manage decision making on hundreds of thousands of Immigration and Visa cases per year.
However, the Infrastructure and Projects Authority said additional work from the Ukraine visa scheme had "been given priority and has therefore delayed roll-out of some IPT functionality."
[7]
"The challenges faced in delivering the Data and Management Information elements of the programme were also underestimated. This is now better understood and as a result the programme plan has been reviewed, giving an increased delivery confidence," the IPA said.
The Register has offered the Home Office the opportunity to respond.
The main suppliers on the project include 6 Point 6, Atos, Deloitte Digital, HP, IBM, Mastek, NETbuilder, PA Consulting and Transform.
[8]
"Supplier partners are accountable for the software delivery and ongoing maintenance of the services delivered by these projects through provision of Scrum Teams," the procurement notice said.
In 2019, a [9]written parliamentary statement , from immigration minister Caroline Nokes said just eight of the 360 people working on the project were directly employed by the Home Office, the remainder coming from third parties.
[10]UK signs deal to share police biometric database with US border guards
[11]'Red-rated' legacy IT gets refresh in UK as US battles theirs with bills
[12]UK opens up 'high-potential individual route' for tech worker immigration
[13]IT staffing, recruitment biz settles claims it discriminated against Americans
Other projects given a red status by the IPA include Her Majesty’s Customs & Revenue's Securing Our Technical Future Programme. The plan is to “stabilize” HMRC's current IT estate, which is “aged”, and to exit from three Fujitsu datacenters. The plan was to exit the datacenters before the contracts expire in 2022, but a “new contract has been put in place to ensure HMRC Services can continue to be supported until Dec 2023,” the report said. In the meantime, the project is “readying the estate for a move to the new destination platforms, cloud and Crown Hosting.”
The IPA said it increased the assessment from amber to red because the team “continues to undertake the infrastructure enablement and migration activity needed” to exit the datacenters.
In January 2022, [14]IBM picked up an £11 million ($13 million) contract to help with the project.
HMRC has been contacted by The Register . ®
Get our [15]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/infrastructure-and-projects-authority-annual-report-2022
[2] 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=2Yt@7P7pe8a9722bdY99CJgAAAIM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/437923/HO_Government_Major_Projects_Portfolio_data_September_2014.ods
[4] 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=44Yt@7P7pe8a9722bdY99CJgAAAIM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
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[6] https://www.digitalmarketplace.service.gov.uk/digital-outcomes-and-specialists/opportunities/662
[7] 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=44Yt@7P7pe8a9722bdY99CJgAAAIM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Yt@7P7pe8a9722bdY99CJgAAAIM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.publictechnology.net/articles/news/temps-account-98-staff-building-%C2%A3250m-immigration-platform
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/04/uk_us_border_biometric_data/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/10/uk_government_legacy_systems/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/01/uk_opens_up_highpotential_individual/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2022/05/19/it_visa_discrimination/
[14] https://www.publictechnology.net/articles/news/hmrc-picks-ibm-%C2%A311m-project-exit-fujitsu-datacentres-june-2022-deadline
[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
In its [1]latest report , the Infrastructure and Projects Authority, a joint unit under the country's Cabinet Office and the Treasury, said the Immigration Platform Technologies (IPT) Programme had moved from an amber to a red warning in the 2022 report.
"The program's delivery plan continues to be impacted by the additional work required across the wider Immigration Portfolio to support the changes needed in the [new] core Atlas system to grant Visas required to support the Ukrainian refugee scheme," the report said.
[2]
The IPT Programme began in 2013 and was expected to be completed in 2017, with a whole life cost budget of £209 million (c $252 million), [3]according to Home Office documents .
[4]
[5]
A related [6]procurement notice said the Programme included a core case working system used by Home Office staff that was set to replace five existing systems that collectively support several thousand concurrent users, and manage decision making on hundreds of thousands of Immigration and Visa cases per year.
However, the Infrastructure and Projects Authority said additional work from the Ukraine visa scheme had "been given priority and has therefore delayed roll-out of some IPT functionality."
[7]
"The challenges faced in delivering the Data and Management Information elements of the programme were also underestimated. This is now better understood and as a result the programme plan has been reviewed, giving an increased delivery confidence," the IPA said.
The Register has offered the Home Office the opportunity to respond.
The main suppliers on the project include 6 Point 6, Atos, Deloitte Digital, HP, IBM, Mastek, NETbuilder, PA Consulting and Transform.
[8]
"Supplier partners are accountable for the software delivery and ongoing maintenance of the services delivered by these projects through provision of Scrum Teams," the procurement notice said.
In 2019, a [9]written parliamentary statement , from immigration minister Caroline Nokes said just eight of the 360 people working on the project were directly employed by the Home Office, the remainder coming from third parties.
[10]UK signs deal to share police biometric database with US border guards
[11]'Red-rated' legacy IT gets refresh in UK as US battles theirs with bills
[12]UK opens up 'high-potential individual route' for tech worker immigration
[13]IT staffing, recruitment biz settles claims it discriminated against Americans
Other projects given a red status by the IPA include Her Majesty’s Customs & Revenue's Securing Our Technical Future Programme. The plan is to “stabilize” HMRC's current IT estate, which is “aged”, and to exit from three Fujitsu datacenters. The plan was to exit the datacenters before the contracts expire in 2022, but a “new contract has been put in place to ensure HMRC Services can continue to be supported until Dec 2023,” the report said. In the meantime, the project is “readying the estate for a move to the new destination platforms, cloud and Crown Hosting.”
The IPA said it increased the assessment from amber to red because the team “continues to undertake the infrastructure enablement and migration activity needed” to exit the datacenters.
In January 2022, [14]IBM picked up an £11 million ($13 million) contract to help with the project.
HMRC has been contacted by The Register . ®
Get our [15]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/infrastructure-and-projects-authority-annual-report-2022
[2] 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=2Yt@7P7pe8a9722bdY99CJgAAAIM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/437923/HO_Government_Major_Projects_Portfolio_data_September_2014.ods
[4] 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=44Yt@7P7pe8a9722bdY99CJgAAAIM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Yt@7P7pe8a9722bdY99CJgAAAIM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.digitalmarketplace.service.gov.uk/digital-outcomes-and-specialists/opportunities/662
[7] 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=44Yt@7P7pe8a9722bdY99CJgAAAIM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Yt@7P7pe8a9722bdY99CJgAAAIM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.publictechnology.net/articles/news/temps-account-98-staff-building-%C2%A3250m-immigration-platform
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/04/uk_us_border_biometric_data/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/10/uk_government_legacy_systems/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/01/uk_opens_up_highpotential_individual/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2022/05/19/it_visa_discrimination/
[14] https://www.publictechnology.net/articles/news/hmrc-picks-ibm-%C2%A311m-project-exit-fujitsu-datacentres-june-2022-deadline
[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: began in 2013 and was expected to be completed in 2017
Korev
Ukraine and Corona can cover up all kinds of Brexit related delays. In the case the project was going badly already, but suddenly throwing Brexit with no immigration decisions made until the last minute can only have made things worse.
Re: began in 2013 and was expected to be completed in 2017
Pascal Monett
Yeah but, Agile !
Provision Of Scrum Teams
Warm Braw
Lost in the POST?
Whatever you may think of Agile (and, mostly, I try not to), even its most dewy-eyed proponents would expect it to struggle in the face of dogged stupidity. There is no reason for a system of this sort to cope with a step change in the number of urgent - and likely incomplete - emergency applications when the obvious fix is in the political realm: allowing entry without a visa on a temporary basis and resolving the visa issue at greater leisure.
However, such is the rampant xenophobia of the Home Office that they'd rather see NHS-recruited doctors and nurses unable to work rather than let one undocumented alien past an immigration desk.
The most practical and economic solution is probably for Atos, Deloitte Digital, HP, et al. to offer free boats on the beaches of northern France.
A hack
elsergiovolador
There is a little hack that can skip all the hassle with immigration systems.
Just use an inflatable boat and you won't even need a passport.
began in 2013 and was expected to be completed in 2017
But the reason it's still not operational is a war that began in 2022?
The memo must have gone out around government that the excuse for all incompetence is to be "Ukraine" from now on.