Companies House has agreed a four-year deal with Version 1 Solutions valued at £45 million for the company to be its digital transformation partner.
The company said it is the agency’s largest technology contract to date and was awarded following a competitive process under the Crown Commercial Service Digital Specialists and Programmes procurement framework.
Up to 70 digital and cloud specialists will provide support through agile teams across business analysis, software development and user centred design. The work will include digitising and automating where possible or removing legacy systems, as well as delivering new systems.
Tom O’Connor, chief executive officer at Version 1, said: “To be part of a transformation journey like this one with Companies House, as public sector services continue to evolve and digitise, is a real honour and we are extremely excited to support it.
“We’re well positioned with longevity, scale, and experience to be able to deliver real innovation and capability. Working together with the teams at Companies House, we will support the drive to ensure that it continues to be the most innovative, open, and trusted registry in the world with brilliant services that give a great user experience.”
New powers
The announcement comes soon after changes in UK company law that will place new responsibilities on Companies House and give it new powers.
Its chief executive, Louise Smyth, recently published a blogpost highlighting Royal Assent for the Economic Crime and Transparency Act, under which the agency will be able to act more quickly if people tell it their personal information has been used on its register of companies without their consent.
This is behind a number of plans, including using digital technology to improve financial information on the register, improving the protection of personal information, and the introduction of identity verification for all new and existing registered company directors, people with significant control and those who file on behalf of companies.
“I’m delighted that we can now play a much greater role in disrupting economic crime and preventing abuse of the register, while supporting economic growth and ease of doing business in the UK,” Smyth said.
