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DATE: 28 January 1998 ATTENDEES: Dave Waltho
VENUE: Conference Room 10 KEB Keith Baines
TIME: 3.00pm - 5.30pm Mike Granville
Tom Simmons
Wendy Powney
Sam Richardson
Tan Gair
Jerome Brice
Paul Warbrick
AGENDA
ITEM LEAD TIMING
1, INTRODUCTION (Introductions, DW 3.00 - 3.10
purpose, agenda etc.)
2. BACKGROUND BRIEFING 3.10 + 3.55
(To ensure common understanding of reason for project overall, the
position of our work streams within it, timescales roles etc.)
a) PROJECT INITIATION DOCUMENT DW
(sent out in advance)
b) WORK STREAMS AND RESOURCING PLAN ° DW
(sent out in advance)
c) OVERVIEW AND SUMMARY OF PREVIOUS WORK DW/ KB
d) PROCESS AND ROLES DW
e) QUESTIONS DW
3. SCENARIOS TO BE CONSIDERED KB 3.55 - 4.55
(To review initial list and agreement amendments/additions)
4. WORK PLAN AND ROLES WITHIN TEAM DW I 4.55 -5.25
(To agree an outline programme of work, review against :
skills/timescales and agree roles)
5. AOB DW 5.25 - 5.30
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To: HO Directors : Copy: Lesley Lawson Dave Miller
. Bert Bertoloni Dave Waltho
Keith Baines Kevin Corrigan
Tim Brown Mena Rego
Dave Smith Wendy Powney
Scott Duncan Linda Hanratty
From: Paul Rich Date: 7 January 1998
SUBJECT: HORIZON - PROJECT ‘DEEP PINK’
1.
2.
This is a follow up to the update I gave at Stuart’s team meeting on Monday.
Since then, the team has met and set out a programme of work, as requested. What has
emerged is that:
- some of this requires immediate attention (eg a lobbying plan)
- it will require active CEC involvement and commitment to plug some of the
strategic and political shortfalls we face.
The work programme is split broadly into two sections:
a) Externally facing to achieve the short-term output of “Government commit to
programme and we preserve Contract A”
and b) Internally facing to achieve “Contingency Plans Developed for varying
scenarios” - we have mapped these out with
c) “Running the programme” as another parallel work stream.
I make no apology for attaching at Annex A the raw wipe-board outputs of the
structure of this work, given necessary speed to show you what needs to be covered.
At Annex B J attached a proposal for resourcing this work. You will see that I am
suggesting a “sponsorship/team leader/core team” approach, calling on identified
experts as necessary. Virtual team rules would apply (ie first call on time etc). Names
in brackets.
I would think this work then needs integrating across all streams with a CEC weekly
committee revising progress and helping. Stuart or I could chair this at the end of our
weekly Monday meeting with ‘team leaders’ present. I guess I will also need resource
to help map progress across the work (ie to run the ‘war room office’). My nominees
would be:
- Keith Downer
or - Bill Kerr
or - Jim McManus
or - Tim O’Leary
Tim would be best, but most expensive!
Given John Roberts’ close interest, Stuart should consider Group (POEC level)
Tepresentation at these meetings too.
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7. Please can you give this your urgent consideration and agreement/comment. I will try
to find time before Monday if possible; or I’ll use that as a fall back. .
PAUL RICH
Development Director
3rd Floor
King Edward Building
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‘THIS DOCUMENT IS IN STRICTEST CONFIDENCE AND MUST NOT
COPIED OR FORWARDED WITHOUT DIRECTOR AUTHORISATION
1.
11
1.2
13
1.4
2.
2.1
2.2
Background
There are significant delays to the Horizon programme.
At a programme plan level, a series of tactical actions have been taken both to
baseline the programme, and strengthen resourcing and organisation, as a result of
work identified by the independent PA review in October 1997.
This culminated in the appointment of a new POCL Horizon Programme Director,
David Miller, to be effective from 19 January 1998.
However, at a strategic commitment level, the programme still has question marks
around it. We understand from good sources that Benefits Agency, via DSS, will be
recommending a negotiated termination, together with renewed and vigorous pursuit
of alternative payment methods (many excluding post offices) to Ministers. ICL
Pathway, backed by Fujitsu, have informed both sponsors that their current business
case is unacceptable, and they will seek higher prices and/or a contract extension as a
result.
Project ‘Deep Pink’
There is an urgent need for important confidential work to take place to:
a) gain government commitment to the programme and preserve our long term
contracts with Benefits Agency and SSA in Northern Ireland (know as
“Contract A”)
and b) develop contingency plans against various scenarios of the programme
being terminated in a variety of ways.
This work will build on that commissioned by Paul Rich in August 1997, and
’ delivered by a team put together by David Morphey which looked at contingency
planning around Horizon and automation strategy. The output from that was a 100
page plus confidential report concluding that Horizon (or something very similar),
remained central to our business vision, and that “Contract A” was vital in giving us
the medium term financial underpinning to review and develop our key strategies
before “Contract A” ceased. This is now being taken forward by studies such as:
- Commercial Strategy Review (sponsored by Dick Wheelhouse)
- Organisation Review (sponsored by David Morphey)
- 5-10 year Strategic Study (sponsored by David Morphey)
- Network Strategy and Modelling (sponsored by Jonathan Evans).
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2.3 The renewed urgency of the situation, given our new knowledge about DSS’ and
ICL’s latest positions, became clear in the last week of December 1997 and, following
a meeting with the Chief Executive in preparation for him advising the PO Board and
DTI Ministers, CEC were briefed on 5 January by Paul Rich and his team. A
proposal was set out, following this briefing, by Paul Rich to CEC on 7 January on
what needed to be done. This was accepted by CEC, and is code named ‘Deep Pink’.
2.4 Anembryonic resourcing proposal accompanied the 7 January proposal, and this has
now been refined with David Morphey and Lesley Lawson, and is the subject of a
separate paper from Lesley Lawson to CEC.
3. Links with other projects/exclusions from scope
3.1 To be clear, the running and delivery of the Horizon programme is a baton now
passed to David Miller at CEC level, and is excluded from this project. There will,
of course, be a need through information sharing processes for close contact to be
maintained.
3.2 There are dependencies with the studies mentioned at 2.2 above, and again, dialogue
will need to be maintained by their sponsors and/or project leaders with this project.
Some of the outputs of this project are likely to become inputs to those.
3.3. There are also links with other projects in train (for example, the social banking
study; the work-in-progress on the rephasing of our automation programme and
generic applications; and information systems strategy develop; our contract .
development with Girobank; and PO Group’s work on Government Direct). The
resourcing approach, through its mix of people on core teams, supported by identified
‘experts’ as necessary is the key vehicle to gain good integration at working level. At
director level, CEC will need to be alert to project impacts as they review progress of
‘Deep Pink’.
3.4 This work replaced the ‘HRT’ project work currently led by Mena Rego which helped
deal with work associated with Horizon’s review by PA.
4. Structure of Projects. Team Leaders of Strands, and deliverables
4.1 The project sponsor is Paul Rich.
4.2 The project’s customers are:
a) CEC
b) Chief Executive and, through him, the Post Office Board.
Indirectly, all POCL’s stakeholders could be affected by the outcome.
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4.3 The project is structured into five strands:
44
5.1
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Strand Team Leader Timescale
I Influencing Plan Jonathan Evans = Immediate/2 weeks
II Negotiation Plan Mena Rego 4-6 weeks
IM Legal/Contractual Plan Mena Rego 4-6 weeks
IV Contingencies vs Contract A Dave Waltho 6-8 weeks
continues/extends
V Contingencies vs Contract A or Dave Waltho 6-8 weeks
Horizon falls/is severely modified
In practice, Strands II and III may run together.
Key deliverables are:
Vital audiences/opinion formers identified
Key messages described and delivered to opinion formers
Government decision makers influenced
Messages to Government integrated with PO Group-
Messages co-ordinated with other influencing bodies (such as CWU,
NESP and ICL)
¢ Negotiation strategy and planning developed to Government
* Negotiation briefs for future contract replacement/extension with BA
and/or ICL Pathway developed
¢ Impact of termination clarified to Government
¢ Consider impact on other clients’ commercial positions
reactively/proactively (eg Government clients, Girobank)
Legal plan t prevent/delay contract termination
Plan for claims by ICL (and BA?)
Plan for claims on ICL and/or BA
Scope costs of termination for each legal scenario
Review plan for de-coupling Contract A from other contracts
Review any procurement law/commercial freedom/other client
contract impacts/joint ventures as necessary
* Scope scenarios for contingency of Horizon and Contract A is
extended
* Develop scenarios, including business modelling, around: compulsory
ACT; a ‘new deal’ for Government suing Horizon as its business with
/without Contract A; and a ‘managed decline’ situation for a manual
by based POCL
Resourcing
eee eee
BEES RH AA en
i=]
< 248
A separate resourcing plan has been developed (see 2.4 and separate paper from
Lesley Lawson) to staff the strands.
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5.2 There will be a core full-time team across the strands, and a call on ‘experts’ to form
‘virtual teams’ from time to time on a ‘first-call’ co-opted basis. The sponsor will
need to ensure this ‘first-call’ approach happens in practice.
5.3 Urgent co-ordination across the strands and general progress will be provided by a
project co-ordinator reporting directly to Paul Rich as sponsor.
5.4 Expert legal help for Strand III (and to include Strand If) will be provided by
Slaughters & May via PO Legal Services.
5.5 Further resourcing needs are to be addressed to Lesley Lawson if/when they emerge.
6.1 Timescales start is immediate and is estimated to last for 8 weeks.
6.2 30 minutes (stretch to 1 hour if necessary) weekly reviews should take place at the
end of Wednesday’s CEC meetings, chaired by Stuart Sweetman and with CEC and
strand team leaders and the project co-ordinator present. It may be advisable to co-
opt experts from time to time too at these meetings (eg legal advisors).
6.3 Stuart Sweetman is to decide how best to update POEC/PO Group colleagues of
progress.
7. Costs
7.1 Most costs are use of managerial time; there will be costs for use of Slaughters &
May through usual Group arrangements.
8. Communication
8.1 This is a restricted document. Any communication of this project should be
positioned as part of the Strategic development studies work we are known to be
undertaking.
PAUL RICH
Development Director
13 January 1998
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Annex B
1. “Governm i P ”
Sponsor: Paul Rich (overall strategy/approach)
a) Influencing Plan - Priority A (Immediate: 2 weeks)
Team Leader: Rob Durrant (Dave Waltho?)
Core Team: Dave Waltho, Bert Bertoloni, Keith Hardie
Experts: Mike Granville, James Lindsay, Vanessa Leeson
b) Negotiation Plan - Priority B (4 weeks)
Team Leader: Mena Rego (Dick Wheelhouse/Linda Hanratty)
Core Team: Keith Baines, Kevin Corrigan, Phil Shingler, Paul Morris
Experts: Dick Wheelhouse, Tim Brown/Mick Jeavons, Girobank Contract rep,
Slaughters & May
May eventually form ‘Negotiation Team’ (but with Dick to sponsor at that
point)
c) Legal/Contractual Plan - Priority B (4 weeks)
Team Leader: Tim Brown (Kevin Corrigan)
Core Team: Slaughters & May/PO Legal Services, Kevin Corrigan, Keith Baines
Experts: Dave Waltho, FMBC BA team rep? (Tom Simmons?), PDA Service
Management rep?
2. “Contingency Plans Developed” - Priority C (6-8 weeks, first cut 4 weeks)
Sponsor: David Morphey (Paul Rich)
Team Leader: Bert Bertoloni
a) Scenarios for “Contract A/continues/extends”
Team: Keith Baines (lead), Mena Rego, Mike Granville
Experts: Janet Topham, Mike Hellier, Kevin Corrigan
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b) Scenarios for no Contract A/no or modified Horizon/new deal for
Government
Team: Dave Waltho (lead), David Smith, Wendy Powney, Ian Gair, Mike
Granville
Experts: Linda Hanratty, Scott Duncan, Ian McClay, consultant (Quadrant or
PA/Coopers?), Vanessa Leeson
Sponsor: Dave Miller
Team: Richard Davis, Bruce McNiven, John Meagher, Janet Topham, Lesley
Lawson, Bill Kerr
Experts: Mena Rego, Tim O’Leary
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