21 All high level specifications were agreed ahead of the issue of the Invitation to Tender. However, a decision not to complete the documentation of both purchasers' detailed requirements before contractor selection and contract award was a major contributor to the later problems of the project. The decision was agreed by the joint project board and by the shortlisted bidders, and recognised Ministers' legitimate interest in proceeding with implementation of their policy for the payment of benefits.
22 When the contract was signed much of the detail of how the development and operation of the Card was to be provided had not been agreed between the purchasers and Pathway. From the records it seems that there were some 289 agreements to agree the detail of the service contained in it, of which 38 remained to be agreed by Pathway with the Department of Social Security, 124 with Post Office Counters Ltd, and 127 with both clients jointly. Some of these matters were relatively minor, such as the design of the logos to appear on the card, whereas others, examples of which are shown in Appendix 2, were more significant. Pathway told us they had expected them to be cleared within three months and that when this did not happen they obtained a contract amendment exonerating them from liability for any delays that were a direct consequence of failures to agree. The number of outstanding agreements to agree reduced greatly during the implementation phase. But vital issues, such as the precise nature and specification of the system's security procedures and reports, particularly how these would adapt to changes in patterns of fraud, remained unresolved when the Card project was cancelled three years later. The Department agreed to Pathway's request to defer full implementation of these security procedures, providing they were fully in place before rolling out the system for higher risk benefits than Child Benefit, such as Income Support.