Passport to £££: Home Office adds £216M to travel doc contract before a single bid's been placed

The Home Office has increased the estimated value of its Provision of Passport Manufacturing and Personalisation Services contract to £576 million including VAT over 12 years, moved the contract start date to August 2028, and postponed the full tender notice; the notice also states HM Passport Office issues about eight million passports annually. The announcement additionally discloses a direct award to IBM for £5.88 million for biometric software licences and support, and outlines that the new supplier must handle personalization (including biometrics), digital travel credentials, and crypto/contingency provisions — the report contains no cyber incident or threat intelligence.