Having done some government contracting (and I know government contractors have a reputation for being expensive and clueless, but I know I've worked with some

Having done some government contracting (and I know government contractors have a reputation for being expensive and clueless, but I know I've worked with some sharp folks) I think one of the challenges here is government's demand for a 100% solution. That sort of runs orthogonal to the typical agile/startup approach. This sounds like a project where saying "let's serve the 70% of easy users to get our foot in the door" isn't an option. This is a government service that apparently all UK residents are entitled to. That's a daunting scenario for even the most agile.