Memorandum submitted by the Information
Technology Services Agency (ITSA 1)
CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The DSS, Information Systems and Information Technology—ITSA's
role
1. THE INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY SERVICES
AGENCY (ITSA)
1.1 About ITSA
1.8 ITSA's Corporate role
1.10 IS/IT Provision
1.14 ITSA's performance
1.15 People
2. THE DSS CORPORATE
IS/IT STRATEGY
2.1 Background
2.7 Benefits of the Corporate IS/IT Strategy
2.9 Timescales
2.10 The role of the private sector
3. THE ACCORD PROCUREMENT
3.1 Background
3.7 Contractual approach
4. PROTOTYPES AND
PILOTS
5. EXISTING SYSTEMS
6. YEAR 2000 AND
BUSINESS CONTINUITY
6.1 Background
6.4 Progress
6.6 Costs
6.7 Business Continuity Planning
7. EUROPEAN MONETARY
UNION
7.1 Background
7.2 Impact on DSS
7.4 Progress
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The DSS, Information Systems and Information Technology
Along with most large organisations, the Department
of Social Security (DSS) is dependent on secure and integrated
Information Systems (IS) and Information Technology (IT) for the
effective delivery of its business.
The Department demands high quality IT services
because people who use our services are dependent on IT for the
timely and accurate calculation and payment of their benefit entitlements,
whether by girocheque, order book, Automated Credit Transfer (ACT)
or card payment. Similarly, staff depend on IT to carry out their
work, whether that involves paying benefits or collecting monies
that are due to the Department.
The DSS is one of the largest IT users in Europe
and ITSA makes full use of private sector suppliers and their
expertise to ensure effective and economical supply and support
for the:
— calculation and payment of pensions,
benefits and allowances by the Benefits Agency (BA), the War Pensions
Agency (WPA) and the Northern Ireland Social Security Agency (NISSA);
— pursuit and collection of monies,
e.g. maintenance from absent parents by the Child Support Agency
(CSA) and collection of National Insurance Contributions by the
Contributions Agency (which transferred to Inland Revenue on 1.4.99).
The existing computer systems were mainly developed
in the 1980s and were built to support the operations that existed
at that time. However, the Department's business approach and
general trends in technology have moved on, and these systems
are now becoming old and in need of replacement. This requires
a long term modernisation programme to improve social security
delivery and provide a modern, effective and efficient social
security system, underpinned by a new generation of IS/IT.
IS/IT has a crucial role in helping the Department
achieve modernised, integrated systems which are geared towards
the needs of the people that actually use it—be they the
general public, or our staff. Modernised IS/IT can support better
ways of working and allow DSS staff to carry out their work in
a more efficient and helpful way. IS/IT will help achieve flexible,
easy to use and efficient services, based on common information
which will help us work with other organisations and welfare providers
such as Local Authorities and Citizens Advice Bureaux in effective
partnership arrangements to deliver better services to members
of the public.
ITSA's Role
ITSA has a responsibility to provide support
to Ministers on all aspects of the Department's involvement with
IS/IT and in the use of IS/IT to support the DSS's business. The
Agency Business Plan for 1999-2000, which forms the Annex to this
document,[1]
sets out our strategy, aims and targets for the next financial
year. It also details our priorities and describes the part ITSA
has to play with the rest of the Department to support the modernisation
programme.
GEORGE MCCORKELL
Chief Executive
SECTION 1 THE
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
SERVICES AGENCY
(ITSA)
About ITSA
1.1 ITSA was established as an Executive Agency
of the DSS in 1990 as part of the "Next Steps" initiative.
1.2 The Agency is at the forefront of securing
cost effective delivery of the IT systems needed to support the
day to day operations of the Department and its agencies, managing
the very substantial workload in maintaining existing systems
and adapting them to support current policy requirements, and
playing a leading role in developing and implementing a corporate
IS/IT strategy.
1.3 ITSA provides, either internally, or through
partnership with the private sector, the full range of IT products
and services required to support the processing and payment of
social security services. It manages the supply of IT to all of
the DSS Agencies, the Northern Ireland Social Security Agency
(NISSA) and DSS Headquarters, and works to support the modernisation
of the social security system.
1.4 In recent years there has been a dramatic
growth and change in the availability, impact and use of IS/IT
which has placed IT at the centre of business strategy for all
large organisations. ITSA has a substantial design and development
work programme which reflects the level of change required by
the current policy agenda and by the maintenance requirements
of systems which have the technical and design limitations of
their generation of IT systems development.
1.5 ITSA's IS/IT leadership and strategic vision
will be crucial in ensuring that the Department gets the best
value from IS/IT investments in the near and the long term. ITSA
is the focus for IS/IT specialist management and leadership in
the Department, having the key project management, business analysis
and technical design and development skills needed to shape and
deliver the DSS-wide changes envisaged. ITSA enables new government
policies and helps modernise social security operations by maximising
IS/IT effectiveness.
1.6 ITSA provides IS and IT expertise and experience
and actively advises on the improvements afforded by technology
in the operation of a more efficient, effective and flexible operation
for the social security system. As part of a wider role within
the DSS the Agency is also responsible for ensuring that appropriate
supply routes for IS/IT products and services are available to
support the changing business needs as we move through the process
of modernisation.
1.7 In doing this ITSA fulfils two roles for
the Department:
— overseeing the setting of the IS/IT
direction and standards; and
— ensuring the effective and economic
supply of IS/IT services.
ITSA's Corporate Role
1.8 ITSA performs a corporate role for the Department
by looking after the Department's technical architecture and standards,
and safeguards the Department's interests by ensuring that sound
IS/IT standards and practices are applied across DSS.
1.9 ITSA plays the pivotal role in developing
the Department's IS/IT Strategy. Our expertise and experience
of developing and implementing large-scale technology enables
us to suggest ways in which IS/IT can be best used to support
or enhance Ministerial policy objectives to achieve efficiencies
and cost reductions.
IS/IT Provision
1.10 The DSS requires services on a massive
scale, and a significant programme of support. In delivering this,
ITSA employs a "mixed economy" workforce of IT staff
drawn from both the public and private sectors. The work is based
at two main locations in the North West and North East of England.
Staff at these locations deliver the following products and services:
— the development and maintenance of
the software that is used to run the computer systems;
— enhancing systems to improve their
operating efficiency and effectiveness;
— amending systems to take account
of changes in benefit rules and operational requirements; and
— improving efficiency of office tasks
through Office Information systems, electronic messaging (E-Mail)
and provision of Intranet services for DSS.
1.11 Day to day operational support for the
Department's IS/IT systems was outsourced in 1995. However, ITSA
remains responsible for overall service levels to customers and
the management of the contracts with the private sector suppliers.
1.12 Through its Service Help Desk and its management
of contracts, ITSA ensures support 24 hours of the day, 365 days
a year. ITSA consistently delivers in excess of Service Agreement
(SA) targets agreed with our customer agencies, and routinely
provides additional service hours over and above those covered
by the target figure.
1.13 ITSA also manages a further range of IS/IT
contracts covering:
— provision of a range of telecommunications
links between offices, including nationwide telephone networks,
E-Mail and video conferencing;
— specialist software development and
support; and
— frameworks for the involvement of
external personnel with specialist skills.
ITSA's performance
1.14 ITSA has a multi-skilled, committed workforce
who are well versed in managing change, and working in partnership
with external suppliers to deliver large scale computer systems.
ITSA has:
— made year-on-year improvements in
business efficiency, with savings passed onto the rest of the
Department and the taxpayer;
— adopted industry standards to help
maintain high quality computer systems, achieving accreditation
under the international quality standard ISO9000 in 1993;
— developed and improved the abilities
and skills of our people resulting in accreditation as Investors
in People (IiP)—the national standard for training and development—in
1996; and
— committed to a continuous programme
of improvement under the UK and European Business Excellence Model
(BEM)—a common standard of business efficiency being adopted
by both public and private sector organisations.
People
1.15 The Agency's success is built upon team
work, underpinned by the skills and commitment of our people.
ITSA is committed to giving our people the support they need and
deserve, valuing their expertise, recognising their achievements
and equipping them with the skills that will take ITSA, and the
Department, into the 21st century. We recognise that the experience
and commitment of our staff is essential to delivering a modern
active service for the Department.
SECTION 2 THE
DSS CORPORATE IS/IT
STRATEGY
Background
2.1 The business of the Department has changed
significantly over the last ten years. The current organisation
of the Department's IT systems reflects the limitations of the
IS/IT available at the time they were designed and the historical
benefit by benefit approach to delivering service.
2.2 Today's technologies provide opportunities
to design people-centred services, and to offer new types of services
direct to claimants, which were simply not available to the architects
of our existing systems. They offer new opportunities for introducing
new ways of working and improving the delivery of welfare services
to the public.
2.3 ITSA has led the development of the corporate
IS/IT strategy for the DSS. The strategy provides a framework
within which IS/IT requirements are planned and delivered. A key
objective is to bring together the information on a person currently
being stored in separate systems into one single account. This,
coupled with a standard approach to collecting information across
welfare services, will maximise its usability, accessibility and
accuracy.
2.4 At the heart of the strategy is a different
approach to information management which will identify common
processes and common data, and move the Department towards fully
integrated systems and more efficient sharing of data and functions.
This will:
— improve the accuracy and consistency
of information;
— reduce vulnerability to fraud;
— improve the quality of management
information; and
— enable efficiency improvements in
the business units.
2.5 We are moving towards a new structure of
Information Systems based on two key components:
— a Shared Systems Infrastructure
(SSI) bringing together all the common information held about
a claimant into a single and more widely accessible source, for
use right across the range of services—and service providers.
The end product will be a major improvement on the current situation
where information may be collected several times for individual
benefits or other transactions by Agencies and is stored separately;
and
— Business Process Support Systems
(BPSS) providing the links between the SSI and its data (subject
to Data Protection Act safeguards) and the people and organisations
who will draw on it (that is the claimants themselves, the service
deliverers in DSS, other Government Departments, Local Authorities
and others). For example, a particular BPSS could support front-line
staff in providing help to particular groups of people with different
needs, such as pensioners or lone parents.
2.6 These systems will be geared to the needs
of the people who use social security, and the staff who operate
the systems. They will use proven and tested modern technologies
and tools which are flexible enough to be upgraded to cater for
future developments to enhance effectiveness and productivity.
Thus the staff who actually deliver services, those who manage
them, other organisations we work with and claimants themselves
will all get better IS/IT support.
Benefits of the Corporate IS/IT Strategy
2.7 The SSI will reduce the complexity which
has arisen from the diverse automated support we have today. It
will improve control and consistency of data and efficiency of
operation, and above all, improve customer service.
2.8 Future services will:
— provide wider, more integrated services
covering welfare advice and information, collection of information,
completion of claim forms and handling changes of circumstances.
This will also allow positive improvements in the services we
deliver to those people who receive benefits;
— enable better working with other
Government Departments and other relevant organisations such as
Local Authorities;
— minimise delays and reduce the frustration
levels of claimants and staff in having to report and input changes
more than once;
— improve the quality of information
available to ministers, policy makers, managers, staff and claimants
and introduce a greater degree of operational flexibility and
responsiveness to change;
— reduce duplication and improve the
accuracy of the decisions we make, by using more consistent information;
— increase the level of fraud prevention
and detection and allow fraud and security measures to be fully
integrated into the systems as they are built. It will provide
an infrastructure to underpin the successes of individual anti-fraud
strategies like data matching; and
— improve the visibility and accessibility
of welfare services and enable staff to establish entitlement
to benefits more readily.
Timescales
2.9 The move to IS/IT strategy services is large
and complex and will be delivered in several stages over a number
of years. The pace of change will be determined by the rate at
which the business can safely migrate rather than being driven
by the technological change. The first tranche "Modern Service
One (MS1)" is currently scheduled to be delivered in 2001.
The role of the private sector
2.10 Modernising IT systems of the size and
complexity used in DSS is a lengthy and expensive process requiring
significant investment. So, the IS/IT strategy will involve working
with the private sector wherever it makes sense for customers,
taxpayers and staff.
2.11 ITSA has a history of working in close
partnership with private sector suppliers. (74 per cent of ITSA's
expenditure is currently spent externally on products and services).
ITSA operates in a mixed economy, using external suppliers where
that offers the best means to secure value for money.
2.12 Partnership will enable private sector
investment, skills and innovation to be combined with our own
expertise and experience of welfare delivery. It will enable modernisation
of the welfare state, whilst allowing DSS to retain control. The
Access to Corporate Data (ACCORD) procurement programme was created
to put in place the supply arrangements that are needed to deliver
the aims of the IS/IT Strategy.
SECTION 3 THE
ACCORD PROCUREMENT
Background
3.1 The ACCORD procurement was conducted in
accordance with Government and EC procurement regulations and
was led by ITSA on behalf of the Department. It set out to establish
Private Finance Initiative/Public Private Partnership (PFI/PPP)
arrangements with suitable private sector service providers.
3.2 In November 1998 the Department announced
that it had selected three private sector consortia with the potential
to deliver a wide range of IS/IT services;
— AFFINITY—led by EDS with IBM
UK, Cable & Wireless Communications and Pricewaterhouse Coopers;
— ARCWAY—led by British Telecommunications
plc with Sema Group UK and Bull Information Systems;
— ACCORD—led by ICL with Andersen
Consulting, Experian, Microsoft, Racal Information Systems, Ferret
Information Systems, Select Software Tools plc and De la Rue Identity
Systems.
3.3 All of these consortia contain major organisations
well versed in large scale IS/IT and organisational change.
3.4 The procurement approach adopted by the
Department through the ACCORD arrangements has two elements:
— the first is to establish a number
of framework or "overarching" IS/IT Service Agreements.
These establish commercial relationships between the Department
and the selected service providers from which we can readily select
IS/IT supply. Having these arrangements in place means we are
able to select service providers quickly and enter into contracts
for specific elements of IS/IT work with leading industry players.
The award of the overarching contracts to all three service providers
also ensures we retain choice when awarding contracts, which we
see as essential to ensure value for money on an ongoing basis;
— the second is to select one of the
consortia as the Department's 'preferred' service provider. This
provides the Department with access to private sector innovation
and experience and will give one service provider specific responsibility
for working with the Department on developing and defining a comprehensive
and cohesive view of the IS/IT services the DSS will need in the
future. The AFFINITY consortium was selected for this role and
they started working with the Department immediately to establish
the requirements for overall transformation.
3.5 As further supply needs arise contracts
for specific IS/IT services will be awarded through these service
providers. For each award of business there will be an additional
document containing any additional and specific terms and conditions.
This allows for individual contractual arrangements to be made
when it is safe and sensible to do so.
3.6 The ACCORD approach is based on a long term
strategy of phased introduction of new IS/IT alongside new business
processes. The contractual approach reflects this, as requirements
will be developed and business allocated incrementally to provide
an ongoing assurance. There will be no "Big Bang" approach
and trials and pilots will be rigorously used in conjunction with
sound project controls and management arrangements.
Contractual approach
3.7 ACCORD focuses sharply on the development
of commercial relationships with its suppliers which are more
than simply contractual ones—partnerships in which both
sides are properly involved in the definition, control and delivery
of the right systems. The approach recognises the lessons from
past public and private sector experience and the need for joint
working between the Department, ITSA and the selected service
providers.
3.8 A collaborative and open relationship with
suppliers will help resolve the complex issues associated with
the delivery of large scale IS/IT systems. Problems will arise,
as they inevitably will in any complex IT project, but ACCORD's
emphasis on transparency in the contractual relationships should
enable them to be dealt with constructively and timeously.
SECTION 4 PROTOTYPES
AND PILOTS
4.1 The DSS Corporate IS/IT strategy is the
long term aim for the DSS. However, we have also explored what
can be done in the short and medium term to inform and modernise
social security delivery by thinking laterally across our current
services and systems and exploring the possibilities of modern
technology. Prototypes are designed to explore new ways of working
in social security and to test new concepts, processes and new
technology in the real world environment.
4.2 The Department already uses IT to provide
limited benefit and advice services to staff elsewhere, including
Employment Service offices and Local Authorities. However, various
prototypes and pilots are demonstrating future possibilities in
several areas:
— Camden is offering lone parents a
single point of contact for electronic claims for Income Support,
Child Support and Housing Benefit;
— the DSS Pensions Direct initiatives
are helping older people in the London area to claim their pension
by telephone, and a telephone enquiry service exists for pensioners
paid by ACT;
— in Lewisham we are demonstrating
the possibilities of closer working across government, where both
DSS and Local Authority staff can access and electronically complete
a combined Income Support and Housing Benefit form, bringing about
a more efficient and people-centred service;
— providing benefit information direct
to the public via kiosks. These are touch-screen computers, similar
to a bank's "hole in the wall" and travel information
screens. They have been piloted in several areas and operate by
prompting the user to touch the area on the screen that links
to the information they want. The purpose of kiosks is to improve
the level of service to the customer by making information more
readily available outside of DSS offices; and
— making forms and leaflets available
electronically via the Internet. An example is the Pensions Overseas
Directorate Electronic Claim Form, which helps with the process
for claiming Retirement Pensions.
4.3 The response to date, from both the people
using and operating these services, has been very positive. Some
of the prototypes have been developed very quickly in response
to Ministers' objectives for social security.[2]
They give us the opportunity to identify and resolve potential
problems, and then consider the longer term potential of the initiative.
They are examples of how IT can offer real and tangible improvements
in service to people.
4.4 During 1999-2000 ITSA will continue to build
on this work, investigating and demonstrating the full capabilities
of new technologies available to the IT market. For example, we
will be involved in:
— carrying out feasibility studies
and testing new concepts to provide better services and support
for disabled people;
— working on the development of the
Welfare Information System (WIS). This will allow Information
Services to be created and hosted on the Internet. In future possibilities
of making this service available on digital TV, office PCs, and
from kiosks are being considered; and
— using Internet Technology—helping
to take forward the Government Secure Intranet, and working in
partnership with other government departments and the voluntary
sector to establish a national network of Childcare Information
Services linked to an internet website.
4.5 The prototypes, which have been running
since April 1998, form an important part of the Department's modernisation
programme, since they test and prove concepts and show how we
can work across boundaries to deliver improved services. The Lone
Parent prototype, for instance, provides a service which cuts
across the administrative boundaries of the Benefits Agency, Child
Support Agency and the participating Local Authority.
4.6 Prototypes are a good example of how the
Department is involving both staff and claimants in helping to
shape the way in which a new, modern service will work in practice.
SECTION 5 EXISTING
SYSTEMS
5.1 Whilst a good deal of ITSA's innovative
effort is directed towards strategic planning and helping to streamline
the Department's business, supporting the Department's many existing
systems represents the major proportion of ITSA's work.
5.2 ITSA continues to safeguard and improve
existing IS/IT supply, maintaining and developing current systems
which are at the heart of the Department's business, e.g. delivering
Income Support, Retirement Pension and Jobseeker's Allowance,
and also ensuring the installation and support of computing equipment
(eg PCs, printers) in the Department's offices nationwide.
5.3 During 1999-2000 ITSA will continue to meet
its commitment to the Department to deliver a comprehensive work
programme for upgrades and enhancements to the existing computer
systems. At the same time, we will continue to work in partnership
with a number of private sector service providers and suppliers—who
have responsibility for IT service delivery—through a range
of contracts, to ensure that the services we deliver to the Department
meet expected standards.
SECTION 6 YEAR
2000 AND BUSINESS
CONTINUITY
Background
6.1 The Department has been actively working
on the IT and business issues which arise as a result of the Year
2000 problem since 1995, when a scoping study was undertaken by
ITSA. A formal DSS-wide project, led by ITSA, was initiated in
1996.
6.2 The DSS Year 2000 Programme plans, monitors
and co-ordinates the work required across HQ, the Agencies, Independent
Statutory Bodies (ISBs) and Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs).
The programme follows the approach recommended by the Government's
Central Communications and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA) and
works closely with other Government Departments.
6.3 Our key systems are designed to hold dates
in a format which is largely unaffected by the Year 2000 problem.
However, these key systems must all be tested to provide positive
assurance that they will continue to process dates correctly before
and after the year 2000 when operating with other systems.
Progress
6.4 The DSS plans and actions to address Year
2000 are well advanced:
— On business critical mainframe systems
compliance work was completed on the Job Seekers Allowance system
on 19-10-98. Compliance of the National Insurance Recording System
(NIRS2) is currently being tested and is scheduled for completion
at the end of June 1999. Work on all other main benefit paying
systems was completed on 31-8-98;
— On non-critical systems the target
date for completing work is 31-8-99 and work is on schedule;
6.5 The Programme has been independently reviewed
by the National Audit Office (NAO), KPMG and Parity consultancy
companies, and by the Departmental IS/IT Audit Group. All have
endorsed the approach taken and provided favourable reports on
progress. In addition, Taskforce 2000 published a report on 11
November 1998 on the Year 2000 projects of central government.
About the DSS it said ". . . some large programmes, such
as at DSS . . . appear to be in very good shape." Other
comments about DSS included ". . . this programme inspires
more confidence than any other." and "We would
recommend this programme as an exemplar to others."
Costs
6.6 The total costs in the corporate business
case approved by HM Treasury and reviewed quarterly have remained
stable over the life of the project and are currently estimated
at £45.7 million.
Business Continuity Planning
6.7 We also recognise that contingency planning
at local, national, and governmental level, is of the utmost importance.
We are actively working to ensure the continuity of our business
through the Year 2000 and beyond. Additionally, we are reviewing
existing DSS contingency plans to ensure that the potential impacts
of a Year 2000 failure are taken into account.
6.8 In addition, a "Millennium Operating
Regime" (MOR) is being established to manage the potential
risks facing the Department around the Year 2000 date change and
the subsequent leap year. The DSS MOR will run from 1 September
1999 to 31 March 2000. It will:
— review normal operational tasks happening
during the MOR period to confirm capacity to deliver and options
to reduce risk;
— review work programmes to assess
the risk posed by change Initiatives; and
— develop the "Millennium Control
Centre" which will create a management and co-ordination
focus across the Department.
6.9 Work is also being taken forward on staffing
and rewards policies to ensure that the Department has the required
level of skilled staff available to perform critical business
activities during the days before and immediately after the date
change, carry out contingency actions in the event that disruption
occurs, and to deal with any unexpected pattern of business resulting
from external factors (e.g. abnormally high level of Social Fund
crisis loans).
SECTION 7 EUROPEAN
MONETARY UNION
CHANGEOVER
Background
7.1 ITSA has a dual role in preparing the DSS
for possible UK entry into the EMU, as a primary supplier of IT
services to the Department, and as a business unit in its own
right. As a supplier, ITSA is responsible for ensuring that all
aspects of the DSS IT be made euro compliant. As a business unit
ITSA has established a project to prepare for the introduction
of the euro and possible entry to the EMU as part of a corporate
DSS Programme.
Impact on DSS
7.2 We anticipate that there will be minimal
impact on the DSS during the first phase. If the UK decides to
join the EMU then major changes will be required to current computer
systems to enable them to deal with euros. This will also have
a large impact on the finance industry, retail trade, and business
operations.
7.3 Subject to the policy that is adopted for
the UK, there could be a major programme of work to revise computer
systems within both the public and private sector. The Department's
business processes, IT systems, forms, leaflets, and accounting
arrangements would have to be amended. Staff would have to be
trained on the conversion rules and claimants informed of the
changeover to the euro.
Progress
7.4 DSS is participating, with other Departments,
and with HM Treasury on a number of working groups organised by
the Euro Preparations Unit which was established in October 1997.
The most recent focus has been on an Outline National Changeover
Plan which was published in February 1999
7.5 DSS has established a programme to address
the EMU and this is progressing on schedule. ITSA has launched
a project leading activity for the Department. This project has
also been subject to an independent audit conducted by SEMA, which
commended the Programme as being "well planned".
1 Not printed. Back
2
The telephone service for pensioners took just 10 weeks to develop. Back
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