3.14 The Bureau was due to start operating in August 2001, but problems in finalising the Information Technology system, process requirement and other technical issues caused delays. The go-live date was moved to November 2001 in July 2001. The Gateway 4 Review in July 2001, noted that there was no solid plan for a model office and pilot before the system went live. The Agency agreed that the time allowed in the contract for System Acceptance Tests was too short. It therefore decided to double the time and to add model office and pilot tests. The go-live date was then rescheduled to March 2002. System Tests took place in November/December 2001 but were not fully successful.
3.15 Model office and pilot tests were then conducted in January and February 2002. Following these, the Office of Government Commerce was invited to conduct a Gateway 4A Review in February 2002 which examined the robustness of the Information Technology system and the business case, and the readiness to go live. The review raised a number of concerns including:
■ The full end-to-end assembly of the Information Technology production environment would be put in place for the first time just days before 1 March 2002. This entailed a 'substantial risk' although the difficulty in bringing it forward was recognised;
■ The need for key staff to be retained to pursue continued development and test work after the launch;
■ While operational staff had been exposed to developing versions of the service during the testing phases, up to date training on the live Information Technology system for Capita and Agency staff would be needed after the go-live date;
■ Progress was still needed on outstanding legislation;
■ The business case required reworking to reflect the projected financial shortfall in 2002-03, and to reflect the fact that the start up of the Basic Disclosure service in August 2002 was crucial; and
■ The lack of contingency left in the time before going live.
The review nevertheless accepting that there was "now no turning back", recognised that, on balance, the March 2002 operation launch would go ahead, given the confusion and bad publicity that would result from delay.
3.16 Despite problems with the pilot exercise, and the Agency's awareness that the Information Technology system did not yet have full functionality, the Agency accepted the system. The decision to go live therefore rested with the Chief Executive of the Bureau on the recommendation of the Capita Programme Director, following consultation with Capita and the Gateway Review team. It was also supported by PA Consulting. At this stage the Bureau was under pressure to go live, not least because the police had stopped accepting applications directly, as planned, in preparation for the start of the Bureau's service. The Agency considered that the risks of delay outweighed the risks of going live and that a break in service could have led to worse delays and a decline in protection for the vulnerable.