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HMRC in front of another inquiry tmrw. Here are some areas t ask on @CommonsPAC @Meg_HillierMP @BimAfolami @heidiallen75 @carolineflintmp 1/
Focus likely to be Customs ICT - Customs Declaration Services (CDS). System vital for ‘day one’, but experiencing ‘significant issues’ 2/
But worth holding in mind the history of HMRC customs systems… 3/
Our current customs ICT system is CHIEF. Built in 1989 (the year the world-wide web was invited) 4/
CHIEF’s ‘retirement’ was announced in 2010, with upgraded version to be implemented in 2012. But… 5/
… the upgrade programme failed to deliver. Designs had not even been finalised by 2012, and it was binned in 2013. 6/
They decided that rather upgrade, it was easier to go for full replacement. So, in 2013, work started on CDS 7/
CDS was designed to meet new EU standards – the Union Customs Code, and was due to deliver in December 2020 8/
But then Brexit happened… 9/
CDS was half way through delivery but needed major changes to meet new demands. 10/ 
Timelines had to shrink by almost two years 11/
Then delivery was ‘in doubt’. According to Andrew Tyrie, confidence in delivery had ‘collapsed’ 12/
So what is the contingency plan for non-delivery? Is it CHIEF? 30 years old & supposed to have been binned in 2012? 13/
Or is it the current ‘fallback processes’? Which mean only ‘life or death consignments’ can pass through UK ports? 14/
And has HMRC properly staffed CDS? In June about 20% of roles were vacant… 15/
Anyway…. CDS is just one of 57 ICT systems that operate at the border. 25 systems need changes as a result of Brexit 15/
About half of those 25 border ICT systems are… either EU systems or require access to EU systems. So what is happening to replace those? 16/
Finally… on top of all of that ICT headache… are we really claiming that ‘innovative new technology’ can solve Brexit border problem? 17/
On average, recent govt ICT projects have a duration of five a half years. One in four are rated ‘Red’ or ‘Amber/Red’ 18/
And, based on current big ICT programmes, every year their expected delivery date is delayed by about six months. 19/
Read more in our @instituteforgov report on customs instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/… 20/20
