After various delays and cost increases, major digital reform project is now approaching its 2026 deadline and, according to newly published formal assessment, successful ‘completion of the programme is essential’
The Home Office’s 10-year £1bn project to digitise the UK’s passport system is entering its crucial “final phase”, during which work will focus on replacing legacy systems in order to “protect the integrity” of services.
The Passport Transformation Programme began work in 2016 and has been subject to various delays and increases in cost – which have seen projected spending rise from a little over £100m to a current tally of £1bn, according to recently published scrutiny documents.
The aim of the initiative is to digitise HM Passport Office’s front-end application process and back-end caseworking systems. The project, which began work in 2016, is also focused on “replacing legacy IT systems with modern, GDS-compliant systems developed and managed in house, reducing our reliance on large IT systems integrator suppliers”, the review adds.
From an original scheduled completion date of early 2022, the scheme is now intending to finish in time for the conclusion of the incumbent legacy services deal with DXC Technology which, after several extensions, currently runs until March 2026.
Following the most recent change in the timelines for the programme, a “full refresh of the business case was completed in May 2024”, according to the newly released accounting officer assessment – the regular undertaking of which is a requirement for all programmes in the government major projects portfolio (GMPP).
The assessment indicates that “there has been good progress in delivering the Passport Transformation programme”, and that “the new digital channels have been fully live since April 2019, with more than 90% of customers choosing to use these channels over paper-based routes”.
The document adds: “The new system is currently processing around 95% of passport application types, with a significant proportion of the assessment of adult renewal applications now fully automated and automation used more extensively than in the legacy system for the remaining applications.”
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The review, which is undersigned by Home Office permanent secretary Sir Matthew Rycroft, states that, with less than 18 months to run on the legacy DXC contract, “the programme is now entering its final phase”.
The remaining objectives yet to be completed include “developing additional features and capabilities to allow 100% of application types to be processed” digitally. The scheme also still needs to conclude the process of “migrating the store of all passport application decisions to a new Home Office-supported solution” – ultimately allowing the department to “safely decommission the DXC legacy services”.
These last two ambitions are the major focus of the programme’s work now, with the assessment adding that “the primary purpose now is to finish the replacement of legacy systems to protect the integrity of the passport service”.
“The legacy services contract… maintains business-critical systems that need to be fully replaced to protect the business continuity of the passport service,” the review adds. “Completion of the Passport Transformation programme is essential.”
Despite the near-tenfold increase in costs since work began, the project is still forecasting monetised benefits of £43.7m over an eight-year period beginning from the current fiscal year. The programme’s wider net present social value – which includes broader benefits beyond just financial returns – is valued at £229.1m, the assessment reveals.
Money spent as of March 2024 adds up to £315m, including £195m of capital spending.
On 25 October, the accounting officer – Rycroft – formally signed off the programme to proceed having been assessed against all four metrics of the GMPP: regularity; propriety; value for money; and feasibility.
“There are challenges and risks to delivery, however the programme is working on mitigations to these,” the perm sec says, in his conclusion. “I therefore consider the programme, which improves the efficiency of the passport service, while protecting the integrity of it, to warrant approval to progress.”
