The Government Digital Service (GDS) has taken on further support for its work on the One Login programme.
It has agreed on a one-year contract, worth up to £3 million, with consultancy 6 Point 6 for architecture services as part of the programme to develop a new sign-in mechanism for central government services.
According to an attachment to the contract notice, the deal has been called off from the G-Cloud procurement framework in response to an "urgent requirement" to “maintain ongoing momentum on delivery” of the programme.
Key deliverables include an urgent review of the architecture to date, an analysis of risks and benefits, a gap analysis against work already completed, oversight and assurance on designing the technical architecture for digital identity, developing standards for security and architecture, and developing appropriate governance mechanisms.
It also identifies a need for expertise in AWS architecture, an area in which 6 Point 6 claims as one of its prime services.
Questions over progress
The contract award raises questions around the progress of the One Login programme. It was due to have gone into its first use for the Disclosure and Barring Service last month, but as of 29 April the relevant web page was still directing people towards the use of Verify.
In addition, last week the Cabinet Office announced that it will continue to accept new sign-ups for accounts on GOV.UK Verify – the service being replaced by One Login – until the end of this year rather than the previous deadline of April.
