Rutnam: ESN still the right strategic direction

Sir Philip Rutnam, the Home Office's permanent secretary said during the session that the strategic review of the project is “on track… it’s not there yet but I am reasonably confident that it will be done to that timescale… We have some very significant milestones ahead of us that we are working towards including a major projects review group discussion towards the end of July. Obviously I have set milestones along the way to do our absolute best to make sure that we are ready for that.”

When asked by Lee Rowley, MP for North East Derbyshire (Conservative), as to why he is only “reasonably confident” of delivering the “six-to-seven month” review on time, Rutnam responded by saying that “it’s best not to over-promise” and said that he’s “aware of the huge complexity of this programme, the fact that it comprises many interdependent parts. I have seen good progress on a number of [those] but I want to see more progress on some of them.”