Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the increased costs of the digital border system to monitor the movement of people and goods into and out of the UK arising from missing the initial deadline of March 2019.

Significant external factors over the last few years have inevitably required changes to the original delivery plans for the Digital Services at the Border programme as set out in 2014, for example, the decision to leave the EU, improvements in the Home Office’s approach to using information, and changes to the way that government handles data.

The programme was reset in 2019 to help ensure the best chance of success, this included actions to strengthen the leadership team and put in place a clear plan of delivery.

As part of the reset in 2019, the Digital Services at the Border Programme was extended for three years to complete in April 2022. The Home Office estimate the net additional costs that will be incurred by the programme resulting from the extension will be £173 million.