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The Home Office has released details of a three-year £50m-plus deal to support the transformation of its use of data and analytics in its immigration operations – including the ongoing operation of its controversial watchlist. 

The deal relates to the Home Office Data Services and Analytics (DSA) team, a specialist unit whose remit is to “re-imagine the departments relationship with data” and support the creation of tools that officials can use in decision-making.

The contract – which came into effect on 1 April but details of which have only just been published – was won by Capgemini. It will be worth £55m to the IT consultancy over the course of three years. The department also has the option to extend the engagement by two further 12-month periods.

The firm’s objectives will include the supporting the creation of a “capability to provide a service across the Home Office and other government departments that will transform the utilisation of data to protect our citizens”.

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Capgemini will also support “continuous delivery of live services”, including ensuring the ongoing operation of the controversial Warnings Index – and “communication of status information across the Home Office”. The index is a watchlist of foreign nationals the Home Office considers to be persons of interest to law enforcement and immigration authorities.

The deal covers the provision of “continuous delivery of management information and operational reporting to support ministers and senior leaders through EU Exit implementation and the replacement of data systems and their associated functions”.

Also addressed by the contract will be the “transformation of [immigration] casework system data into usable, structured formats to support… operational areas and ensure continuity of informed operational decision making”. Also included in the contract is the “re-engineering of DSA products to incorporate data from new data systems – [including] the in-country immigration system”.