A big bill and "no easy answer" for critical part of e-gov

Tuesday 10 January 2017

A key part of the States drive to get more government services online is likely to cost "a number of million" pounds, according to the latest progress report.

It also says that after researching how to create a 'digital ID' system for the last 18 months, at a cost of up to £400,000, the right solution still hasn't been found, and it's now become "a complex matter with no easy answer."

The States are trying to help Islanders to do more online, such as pay tax or register births/deaths/marriages, in a bid to both reduce costs and make use of new digital technologies. 

A digital ID system would provide a secure way for each Islander to register with the States online, and then access their own government services without having to remember lots of different passwords, work with a variety of separate systems, and repeatedly provide 'know your customer' documents such as proof of ID and address.

That ID could then be used "offline" as well, such as when calling a government department, and might also be used for other online services such as those provided by the banks or utilities. 

But the States web team have now published a blog on the gov.je website (click here) which says that deciding how to implement a digital ID system for Jersey has been very difficult. Working with a team of consultants, over the last 18 months, they have come up with 50 different options for the right system to use, all of which involve some form of "compromise":

• "There might be an option that has been live in a jurisdiction for years but is no longer state-of-the-art;
• At the other end of the spectrum there may be an option that uses cutting-edge technology but has no customers live, anywhere in the world;
• A solution might adequately meet our current needs, but have an unclear future roadmap and might quickly fall out of fashion;
• A solution that works well in a jurisdiction where identity cards are compulsory (as is the case in many European countries) might be much more difficult to implement here in the absence of such legislation;
• A solution might work fine for Jersey residents wishing to use government services, but not provide a form of ID that is also accepted by your bank or when transacting online in the UK or other countries;
• Another might tick all the boxes but at a cost that the Island cannot afford."

The blog also says that the "discovery phase" of researching the project has so far consumed just under £400,000, a sum which was initially planned as being enough to actually get the new system in place:

"Back in February 2014 we had planned for £150,000 of software licences and build costs, with project management and business analysis bringing the total to £390k. We now know that the discovery phase will account for most of that amount, and that implementing digital ID to the necessary high standards standards of privacy, security, usability and so on comes at a similar cost in a small jurisdiction to a large one. The overall purchase and running cost over five years will be a number of million, depending on which option we select, with funding from the Public Sector Reform budget. The business case has to be strong, with a projection of how digital ID will enable corresponding savings in the new online services that will use it."

The blog concludes by saying that after 18 months of research it is still not possible to decide which way to go, as with the speed technology moves it is always a "moving target;" but that they do hope to move to "implementation" soon:

• "One school of thought is that we should focus on the pressing need to implement a solution in 2017 and therefore go for a more tactical solution that can be implemented at a lower cost, mindful that we might need to revisit it in three or four years’ time;
• The opposite school of thought is that we cannot afford to compromise in this important area, and that we should find the money to buy the most comprehensive solution available. This would include features that were not identified as requirements at the outset, such as digital signatures, and could form the basis of a ‘financial services passport’ (much sought-after by our financial services sector). But extending the scope means a delay in launching a digital ID solution, which would compromise the delivery of other interdependent parts of the eGov programme.
• A third point of view is that we should wait until the market matures, and solutions become commoditised and inexpensive, with a clear international standard which we can adopt with confidence. That might sound appealing, but the experts tell us this is years away. A risk-averse ‘wait and see’ approach would significantly compromise initiatives that Jersey is committed to, such as introducing the ability to manage your income tax online, or e-voting, and would see us fall further behind other advanced digital jurisdictions.