Sopra Steria has been awarded a five-year contract as part of ongoing efforts to digitise the HM Passport Office.
It has been appointed by the Home Office to deliver a new digital service to validate and digitise passport application forms and supporting evidence.
Sopra Steria will operate the Scanning, Validation and Storage (SVS) in conjunction alongside storage and information management services company Iron Mountain. Together they will operate the two service centres in Corby, Northamptonshire and Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire starting in October 2020.
The partnership will mean key documents for British passport applications are scanned and validated before being uploaded onto a digital platform for processing. Customers’ documents are stored and then returned.
“This builds on a long-standing partnership between Sopra Steria and HM Passport Office and will help streamline the service for six million people, in the UK and overseas, who apply for a passport every year,” says Adrian Fieldhouse, managing director of Sopra Steria’s Government Sector, commenting on Sopra Steria and HM Passport Office’ 11 year working history.
“SVS is the next step in the digital transformation process for HM Passport Office and will help to deliver more modern and efficient public services underpinned by a fully-digitalised system.”
HM Passport Office routinely processes almost seven million UK passport applications every year.
“We are delighted to be partnering with Sopra Steria to support HM Passport Office’s digital transformation journey,” adds Phil Shepley, general manager UK, Ireland & Nordics at Iron Mountain.
“UK citizens rely on passport application processing and this SVS service will ensure that it is more reliable, secure and efficient than ever before.
“This deal is one of a number of examples where Iron Mountain is providing solutions that solve complex customer challenges.”
