The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office first announced three years ago its intention to roll out a new support platform for departmental staff working at diplomatic facilities around the globe

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has completed the initial worldwide implementation of an upgraded system to allow overseas embassies to manage their interactions with UK citizens in need of consular support.

The department’s plans to deploy a new “integrated case-management system” for diplomatic facilities overseas – and replace the legacy Casebook platform – were first trailed in May 2021. In a procurement notice published then, the FCDO said that its aim was to provide a “more integrated, seamless, user friendly suite of applications to deliver enhanced experience for British people who need our help and a more streamlined experience for consular staff, providing more resilience in a crisis”.

More than three years on from setting out that ambition, the department’s recently published annual report for the 2023/24 year reveals that all UK diplomatic facilities around the globe have been equipped with a new integrated system. The document adds that sites will further benefit from additional functionality to be introduced over the coming months.

Related content

• Foreign Office launches £350m project to connect embassies in 170 countries
• Digital Leaders’ Download: Vijay Rangarajan on how tech and data helps FCDO respond to conflict, crisis – and the coronation
• Overseas shared services have already delivered £120m in benefits, minister claims

“Our support for British nationals is underpinned by our digital change programme,” the report says. “During 2023-24 we introduced a new integrated case management system that ensures that consular staff have a complete view of our interactions with a British national, from first contact through to resolution. This system is being used by every consular team in the world for both registration and assistance cases, and during 2024 it will be extended further, including for use in crisis response.”

In June 2022, tech supplier NTT Data was appointed to a four-year contract worth £12.6m to support the delivery of the new case-management platform.

Information published on GOV.UK indicates that there are almost 250 discrete embassies, consulates and high commissions in cities across the world.

The FCDO’s annual roundup also provides details of the department’s success in using technology to provide those in need of its support with “24/7 services”. Enabling users to interact with digital platforms will continue to be a focus.

“In 2023-24, we issued almost 28,000 emergency travel documents, 99% of which were handled within the time frame set out in our service level agreements,” the report says. “We answered 467,000 enquiries of which 306,000 were calls. The average speed of answer was less than two minutes every day throughout 2023-24. We continued to improve our online digital services available to British people to self-serve 24/7 and added new services such as the online consular birth and death registration service.”