The Government Digital Service has awarded a new contract to existing tech supplier PA Consulting, while also bringing in defence heavyweight BAE Systems to support delivery of new login system
The Government Digital Service is to spend nearly £40m on a duo of deals for two tech firms to serve as “capability delivery partners” for the ongoing rollout of the GOV.UK One Login programme.
On 10 April, the Cabinet Office-based tech unit entered into a two-year contract with PA Consulting for the provision of additional capability related to “user-centred design” expertise.
Five days later, GDS signed another 24-month engagement for a delivery partner specialised in “fraud risk management”. This deal was awarded to the Digital Intelligence sub-division of global defence firm BAE Systems.
Both contracts are intended to support GDS’s work on the One Login initiative, and each is valued at £19m, according to procurement records – adding up to £38m in total.
PA has previously been retained to serve as a capability delivery partner for One Login, on a two-year agreement worth £9.5m that is due to conclude in December of this year. Another services firm, Deloitte, is also on the roster of firms providing extra expertise to support the implementation of the government-wide sign-in system – via a £16m one-year engagement that runs until July 2024.
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Other tech suppliers supporting the One Login scheme via multimillion-pound deals include Capgemini, 6point6, Mastek, and HDS.
In government major projects data published last year, the Cabinet Office put the overall cost of delivering the new login platform at £305m. The department estimates that the “monetised benefits” enabled by One Login over the coming five years will total £1.75bn – almost six times the delivery cost.
Once the system has been rolled out throughout departments, it is intended to provide a single, unified replacement for a total of 191 separate accounts systems currently used by government agencies, incorporating 44 different login methods. It was recently revealed that One Login has been implemented across 30 discrete government services and has registered almost four million citizens as verified users – clocking up 200,000 identity verifications each month.
