Post Office board members are grappling with a serious data safeguarding risk linked to their troubled Horizon replacement project. Insiders worry that crucial access to data might vanish once workforce reductions kick in. This data is essential for potential inquiries into the Horizon system’s long-delayed replacement, known as New Branch IT (NBIT). Concerns mount that if key personnel leave, future reviews could face significant barriers.
According to a source involved, the Post Office is winding down its Strategic Platform Modernisation Programme (SPMP), which includes the NBIT project. They’re letting staff go, particularly contractors. The urgency of the data safeguarding risk was highlighted by a contractor who has now been removed from the project, raising alarms about the possible loss of vital evidence tied to the program’s failures and ballooning costs.
Staff cuts are already in motion, with 80 consultants and 29 contractors set to depart in the coming weeks. Recent layoffs are part of a larger effort, following nearly 100 reductions made earlier. A significant group has been informed that their roles would end shortly, leaving the Post Office with limited time to secure critical data for future access.
That information could be crucial for upcoming investigations into why the SPMP went so far over budget yet failed to deliver. It encompasses emails, messages, working files, and technical documents. The source expressed frustration: as the SPMP nears its conclusion, the Post Office’s approach to protecting this data feels inadequate and rushed. They’re worried this could erase essential evidence concerning the ongoing Horizon inquiry and potential government investigations into overspending and data retention failures.
The Horizon system has been linked to one of the UK’s worst miscarriages of justice, impacting the lives of numerous subpostmasters wrongfully accused due to its flawed data. The project to replace it, which began in 2021, has seen costs explode from £180 million to over £1 billion, funded by taxpayers.
When approached about the rising data safeguard concerns, a Post Office spokesperson pointed to a structured offboarding process to manage asset returns and knowledge transfer. However, the source countered that, despite the plans, the Post Office has not effectively safeguarded data for over two years. With only days left, they worry about relying on third parties to secure this information.
The Post Office claims that data related to NBIT will remain within internal teams, assuring that essential components will continue to be managed by their tech teams. They also stated that any parts of NBIT not currently deployed would be handed over for potential future review.
During the ongoing inquiry into the Horizon scandal, the Post Office has faced heavy criticism for its delayed disclosure of information. Recently, a manager is under investigation for allegedly instructing staff to destroy documents relevant to the inquiry. Meanwhile, the Post Office is working on transitioning to a new cloud-based audit system for Horizon, set to start testing after Christmas and move data by early 2025, marking a shift away from reliance on Fujitsu.
The Horizon system is notorious for causing false accounting losses, wrongfully implicating numerous innocent subpostmasters, a scandal that first came to light in 2009.