The fallacy of COTS
Here we go again. Deeeeeeeep sigh.
COTS is a fallacy.
Unless there is a package in a box called "Child Maintenance and Enforcement for dummies" or "Microsoft Child Maintenance and Enforcement Pro Deluxe" it is always going to be holding a massive coding component - using the term COTS (Commercial OFF THE SHELF) is seriously misleading.
What is needed is some intelligent problem definition and project management skills, combined with a very high "STAY CLEAR" labelled walls against politicians - I've been in enough Gov IT projects to know that getting a politician too close to it when he/she needs headlines is just about as dangerous as not having a clue what you're doing.
Oh, and get someone to lead the NAO who is NOT an ex consultant so it doesn't become an insider job again. What happened inside ID Cards should have come out during audit - that it didn't told me all there was to know.
It CAN be done. And at sensible prices.