Home Office UKVI Life in the UK (LitUK) Market Engagement Event
12pm – 1.30pm25 January 2023
Online
IMPORTANT: In order to attend this event, the Home Office requires suppliers to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement.
On Wednesday 25 January (12:00-13:30) techUK is delighted to be hosting the Home Office, acting through UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), as the department reviews options for a potential future procurement of Secure Testing Services (STS) for the Life in the UK Test (LitUK).
A key ambition of this market engagement is to test the feasibility of potential procurement options and the markets capacity, capability, and maturity to not only deliver the services as they are currently, but to transform these services by maximising the use of digital solutions to manage remote and secure online UK tests (Remote Proctoring), whilst maintaining the security, integrity and Customer satisfaction of using these services.
Remote Proctoring will provide our Customers with greater choice and flexibility when it comes to taking a Test, continuing to provide an excellent customer experience.
UKVI is a department within the Home Office and has Customers in the UK who include but are not limited to:
those seeking to extend permissions to work or study in the UK;
those seeking to extend permissions to stay or settle with family;
those seeking to evidence their rights as European Economic Area nationals and family members: and
those progressing from earlier immigration permissions to British nationality.
A knowledge of English has been a requirement for naturalisation as a British citizen for many years. Since 2005, customers have also been required to show an understanding of life in the UK. The LitUK test is designed to test an individual’s knowledge of life in the UK (based on the content of ‘Life in the United Kingdom; a guide for new residents’ handbook). The test is taken as part of an application for settlement in the UK or naturalisation as a British citizen.
The Life in the UK Test itself is currently a computer-based multiple choice test containing 24 questions and is designed to test a customer’s knowledge of life in the UK with a 75% pass mark. For the year 1st July 2021 – 30th June 2022, approximately 200,000 tests were taken across the test centre network, which currently has over 30 test centres in the UK and 3 overseas test centres (located at British Armed Forces bases).
The Home Office would like the market to consider these services and how they might be delivered in the future and this event will provide a platform for the Home Office to brief suppliers on the opportunity and invite any initial feedback to help establish the most attractive way of packaging and scoping a future procurement for Life in the UK Test that supports both current services and their future transformation.
IMPORTANT: In order to attend this event, the Home Office requires suppliers to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement.
In addition to signing up to attend this event via the booking button on this page, any organisation intending to submit an expression of interest must be registered as a supplier with the Home Office eSourcing Portal. To register, visit the portal's login page at https://homeoffice.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html. Technical assistance on the use of the eSourcing Suite can be accessed via the same website.
To be given access to the NDA, you must send an EOI to [email protected], as per the instructions on the PIN. Upon receipt of the signed NDA, you will also be able to access the supplier questionnaires.
The fully signed NDA must have been received by 17:00 on Monday 23 January.
Book your place for this event now.
For more information, please feel free to get in touch with the below Team:
Heather Cover-Kus
Head of Central Government Programme, techUK
Heather Cover-Kus
Head of Central Government Programme, techUK
Heather is Head of Central Government Programme at techUK, working to represent the supplier community of tech products and services to Central Government.
Prior to joining techUK in April 2022, Heather worked in the Economic Policy and Small States Section at the Commonwealth Secretariat. She led the organisation’s FinTech programme and worked to create an enabling environment for developing countries to take advantage of the socio-economic benefits of FinTech.
Before moving to the UK, Heather worked at the Office of the Prime Minister of The Bahamas and the Central Bank of The Bahamas.
Heather holds a Graduate Diploma in Law from BPP, a Masters in Public Administration (MPA) from LSE, and a BA in Economics and Sociology from Macalester College.
Ellie joined techUK in March 2018 as a Programme Assistant to the Public Sector team and now works as a Programme Manager for the Central Government Programme.
The programme represents the supplier community of technology products and services in Central Government – in summary working to make Government a more informed buyer, increasing supplier visibility in order to improve their chances of supplying to Government Departments, and fostering better engagement between the public sector and industry. To find out more about what we do, how we do this and how you can get involved – make sure to get in touch!
Prior to joining techUK, Ellie completed Sixth Form in June 2015 and went on to work in Waitrose, moved on swiftly to walking dogs and finally, got an office job working for a small local business in North London, where she lives with her family and their two Bengal cats Kai and Nova.
When she isn’t working Ellie likes to spend time with her family and friends, her cats, and enjoys volunteering for diabetes charities. She has a keen interest in writing, escaping with a good book and expanding her knowledge watching far too many quiz shows!
Programme Manager, Cyber Security and Central Government, techUK
Annie Collings
Programme Manager, Cyber Security and Central Government, techUK
Annie joined techUK as the Programme Manager for Cyber Security and Central Government in September 2023.
Prior to joining techUK, Annie worked as an Account Manager at PLMR Healthcomms, a specialist healthcare agency providing public affairs support to a wide range of medical technology clients. Annie also spent time as an Intern in an MPs constituency office and as an Intern at the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed.
Annie graduated from Nottingham Trent University, where she was an active member of the lacrosse society.
Ella joined techUK in November 2023 as a Markets Team Assistant, supporting the Justice and Emergency Services, Central Government and Financial Services Programmes.
Before joining the team, she was working at the Magistrates' Courts in legal administration and graduated from the University of Liverpool in 2022. Ella attained an undergraduate degree in History and Politics, and a master's degree in International Relations and Security Studies, with a particular interest in studying asylum rights and gendered violence.
In her spare time she enjoys going to the gym, watching true crime documentaries, travelling, and making her best attempts to become a better cook.