Current portfolio

Asylum Transformation Programme

Government Transformation and Service Delivery

Record date: 31 March 2026

Whole-life cost: £430m
Published schedule: 01/09/2022 – Low: 31/03/2027, Mid: 31/03/2027, High: 31/03/2027
NISTA delivery confidence: AMBER
Senior responsible owner: Becca Jones

What the project is for

The Asylum Transformation Programme is transforming people capabilities, process and technology underpinning the end to end asylum system, to create a flexible, sustainable and efficient system which has a transparent and outcome focussed customer journey, enabling strong partner and public trust and an improved colleague experience.

Departmental delivery commentary

Compared with Q4 2024/25, the NISTA Delivery Confidence Assessment (DCA) rating for Q4 2025/26 remains Amber. This reflects continued delivery progress alongside a number of ongoing risks and dependencies. The programme has maintained good momentum across multiple projects, with progress against its strategic objectives continuing. However, challenges remain in relation to resourcing and prioritisation within key enabling functions on which the programme is dependent. These dependencies continue to require active management and mitigation to support successful programme delivery.

Schedule

Compared to financial year 24/25-Q4, the project's end-date at 25/26-Q4 remained the same: 31st March 2027. This reflects the successful delivery to date and the confidence in future plans.

Cost

Compared to financial year 24/25-Q4, the project's departmentally agreed Whole Life Cost at 25/26-Q4 increased from £362m to £431.78m. This is primarily due to an increase in programme scope for 25/26.

Benefits

Compared to financial year 24/25-Q4, the project's departmentally agreed Benefits at 25/26-Q4 increased from £2,748m to £13,153.14m. This is primarily due to the increase in programme scope for 25/26 to include Appeals-related projects; which brought a significant benefit. The Asylum Transformation Programme (ATP) has already delivered significant improvements in the UK asylum system; totalling over £1bn in benefits up to the end of 25/26.