12 In July 2003, the Home Office carried out a Gateway 2a Review11, which assessed the status of the project as Amber.12 In broad terms, the Review team felt that procurement was being conducted in line with best practice. The quality of reports, project tools and materials were assessed as generally good. The Review team's major concerns related to the programme scope and to benefits realisation, organisational processes and operational culture. It noted that the demands on the asylum system were changing and that this was a risk when entering into a contract for the provision of a facility and services over ten years. In its response to the Review, the project team agreed to revisit the project scope when the planning decisions for Bicester and the second pilot accommodation centre were resolved.
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11 Gateway Reviews are carried out on major IT-enabled construction and procurement programmes and projects. These can be reviewed at six stages of the procurement lifecycle. In the case of the Bicester project, Gateway Reviews took place at Gateways 2 and 2a (Procurement Strategy) and Gateway 3 (Investment Decision).
12 The OGC Gateway Review methodology defines Amber status as "The project should go forward with actions on recommendations to be carried out before the next OGC gate."