Recommendations & Conclusions
4 items
6
Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Homes for Ukraine
Deferred
DLUHC has not yet assessed what it will do when its current contract with Palantir to provide the scheme’s main data system ends in September 2024. In order to set the scheme up quickly, in March 2022, DLUHC accepted an offer from Palantir, a company on the public sector framework …
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DLUHC has not yet assessed what it will do when its current contract with Palantir to provide the scheme’s main data system ends in September 2024. In order to set the scheme up quickly, in March 2022, DLUHC accepted an offer from Palantir, a company on the public sector framework agreement for digital services, to provide six months of free support to create its main data system to manage and monitor scheme data. Following the free six-month trial period, DLUHC signed a 12-month contract with Palantir worth £4.5 million, excluding VAT, without any competitive process. In September 2023, it extended the contract with Palantir for a further 12-months, valued at £5.5 million, excluding VAT. The Government’s Chief Commercial Officer wrote to Palantir noting his concern about the practice of offering services to public sector customers for a zero or nominal cost to gain a commercial foothold, contrary to the principles of public procurement which usually require open competition. DLUHC is conscious of some of the criticism of the way that this contract was set up at the very beginning, and is working on a timetable to extend or re-tender the contract. However, we are nonetheless concerned that DLUHC may find it challenging to run a fully competitive procurement process before the current contract ends in September 2024. Recommendation 6: DLUHC should, as part of its Treasury Minute response, set out its assessment of its commercial options once the current Palantir contract 8 Homes for Ukraine expires. If this includes extending the contract with Palantir, DLUHC should explain how this is justified under current procurement regulations. In particular, how such a decision would be consistent with the Government Chief Commercial Officer’s concerns about departments accepting IT companies’ offers to provide free trial periods to gain a commercial foothold. Homes for Ukraine 9 1 Homes for Ukraine Visas
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Government response AI summary
DLUHC is reviewing its commercial options for the Palantir contract, including a potential renewal, but cannot provide further details due to commercial sensitivity. It justified previous decisions by stating the Homes for Ukraine scheme fell under 'exceptional circumstances'.
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HM Treasury
21
Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Homes for Ukraine
Deferred
At the start of the scheme, DLUHC identified a need to share data between itself, the Home Office and local authorities, including data on the subsequent movement of Ukrainians after their arrival into the UK. DLUHC chose to accept an offer from a company called Palantir to use its data …
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At the start of the scheme, DLUHC identified a need to share data between itself, the Home Office and local authorities, including data on the subsequent movement of Ukrainians after their arrival into the UK. DLUHC chose to accept an offer from a company called Palantir to use its data system on a pro-bono basis for the first six months, with Palantir waiving an estimated fee of £3.25 million. In September 2022, following the end of the six-month free trial period, DLUHC directly awarded a 12-month contract to Palantir worth £4.5 million, excluding VAT.35
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Government response AI summary
DLUHC is reviewing options for the Palantir contract ahead of its September 2024 expiry, potentially extending it until September 2025, but further details are commercially sensitive. The government reiterates that the initial contract fell under 'exceptional circumstances' due to urgency.
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HM Treasury
23
Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Homes for Ukraine
Deferred
The current contract with Palantir is due to end in September 2024. We therefore asked DLUHC what its plans were after 2024. DLUHC told us it would look “very closely” at next steps and would take a decision at the “appropriate moment”.37 We challenged the Department on when an appropriate …
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The current contract with Palantir is due to end in September 2024. We therefore asked DLUHC what its plans were after 2024. DLUHC told us it would look “very closely” at next steps and would take a decision at the “appropriate moment”.37 We challenged the Department on when an appropriate moment would be given the end of the current contract was less than a year away. It told us that it was “constantly looking at what data and digital solution we need to run the programme and to enable the data flows” between the organisations involved, and that it would continue to do so when considering its requirements for the future.38 It noted that it could extend the Palantir contract one more time for one more year. DLUHC acknowledged the criticism it had received about how the contract had been set up at the beginning, and that it did not want to end up in a situation where it had no options, but that it was waiting for policy decisions to be made by Ministers.39 We therefore asked DLUHC about whether DLUHC would have enough time to run a procurement exercise if it needed to and what was its point of no return. DLUHC said that it did not know precisely when this was, but that it was working closely with commercial colleagues to work out an appropriate timetable.40
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Government response AI summary
DLUHC is undertaking work to review options for the Palantir contract ahead of its September 2024 expiry, including a potential extension until September 2025. Further details are commercially sensitive, with a decision targeted by September 2024.
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HM Treasury
27
Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Homes for Ukraine
Deferred
We asked DLUHC about the value for money of the scheme. DLUHC told us that it thought the cost of scheme was much lower than for other resettlement schemes. It explained that the cost per night of the accommodation was lower as sponsors provided the accommodation.44 Thank you payments equated …
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We asked DLUHC about the value for money of the scheme. DLUHC told us that it thought the cost of scheme was much lower than for other resettlement schemes. It explained that the cost per night of the accommodation was lower as sponsors provided the accommodation.44 Thank you payments equated to costs of £6 per person per night (£8 once increased to £500 after 12 months) compared with £98 per person per night for Afghans being hosted in hotels. This calculation, however, did not factor in additional funding that was available under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, for example, £150 million of funding given to local authorities for homelessness prevention.45 DLUHC also considered that, although hard-to-quantify, the support offered by sponsors to individuals, would otherwise have fallen on the public purse to help people into appropriate education or training or work opportunities. The Home Office noted that it was difficult to measure the value for money of a humanitarian scheme, because it was about saving people’s lives, but told us that it had spent just over £50 million on resourcing the scheme.46 41 Letter to Committee of Public Accounts from Permanent Secretary, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, 7 December 2023 42 C&AG’s Report para 4.21 43 Qq 78–79; C&AG’s Report paras 4.22 44 Qq 76–77 45 C&AG’s Report para 3.7 46 Qq 76–77 Homes for Ukraine 17
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Government response AI summary
DLUHC continuously monitors scheme progress and has developed an emergency sponsorship playbook. The department is currently exploring options for a further value for money evaluation of the scheme, with a target implementation date of Spring 2025, while affirming the scheme's existing value for money.
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HM Treasury