Plans for an £816 million system to test the English skills of UK visa applicants have stalled, with the Home Office pushing procurement back at least five months after repeated consultations with suppliers.
The department responsible for immigration started talking to the market about the system - destined to be used in hundreds of test centers around the world - during August last year. At the time, it said the competition for the contract would start April 7, 2025.
However, earlier this week, it published another request for information from suppliers, its fifth on the project, which said UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), a unit of the Home Office, was reviewing options for the future procurement of a Home Office English Language Test (HOELT) to be delivered in the UK and internationally.
"Some immigration routes require applicants to demonstrate English language proficiency. The HOELT will assess speaking, listening, and, where applicable, reading and writing skills," the notice reads.
Among the categories required as part of the project will be educational software and IT services, including consulting and software development.
UKVI first opened the conversation with suppliers in August 2024, when it said it was planning to move away from a concession model – presumably piggybacking on another service – and contract directly with suppliers.
It added that it planned to split the service. The development, evaluation, and ongoing support of a Home Office-branded test to be used globally would be procured separately from a customer booking platform, test center provision, invigilation, and ID verification. The two services were set to be procured in separate lots. Tests might take place in the UK and 141 locations globally, including Bangladesh, China, Ghana, India, South Africa, and other countries. It estimated the value of the contracts to be worth up to £1.13 billion.
However, in the latest notice, the Home Office said that there were currently 268 test centers and that an earlier market engagement "explored market capability and the maturity of remote testing solutions."
"Building on this feedback, the Home Office is exploring a 'digital by default' service, with remote proctoring [testing] as the primary mode of delivery and physical test centers available where remote solutions are not feasible," it said.
There will no longer be two lots but instead, two "core elements." It also set the expected value of the contracts at up to £680 million excluding VAT (£816 million including VAT).
Questions remain over whether the delay in launching the competition will affect the suppliers' start date. A notice in April this year said a five-year contract would start in August next year, and could be extended for another three years.
The Register has asked the Home Office to comment. ®
Source: The register