Recommendation 19

However, the Rainbow Programme is already behind schedule. NS&I’s contract with Atos was due to expire in 2024, but delays to the Rainbow Programme resulted in NS&I extending the contract until April 2025. We asked NS&I about the reasons for this delay. In response, NS&I explained that one particular procurement process, which related to finding a company to provide the “digital experience” component of the Rainbow Programme (one element of the multiple provider model) was the main cause of the delay. It added that while the procurement process generated “good competition” with multiple bidders of the “right type of quality”, all the bids submitted were “non-compliant” and did not meet NS&I’s requirements. NS&I described this as “highly unusual” and that it had carried out a lessons learned exercise to understand why this happened. NS&I told us it had subsequently changed the procurement process, including giving bidders more flexibility around the project’s security requirements.35