There aren't many CIO roles where the remit covers such wide-ranging projects as scanning for illicit radiological substances, counter-terrorism to ensure security at the Olympic Games, and a controversial 4.8 billion national biometric identity card scheme.

However, that's all on the agenda for Annette Vernon, CIO at the UK government Home Office. One of the largest and most high-profile public sector departments, the Home Office is responsible for policies on borders and immigration, counter-terrorism and policing.

Vernon sets the strategic course for IT across a group that includes three executive agencies - the UK Border Agency, the Identity and Passport Service and the Criminal Records Bureau - plus around 20 non-departmental public and arms-length bodies, such as the National Policing Improvement Agency and the Serious Organised Crime Agency.

The management structure is not dissimilar to that of a large private sector multinational or conglomerate. Vernon reports into a finance and commercial director on the Home Office board, while the various CIOs and IS directors for the individual departmental units and agencies have a "dotted line" to Vernon for recruitment, professional services and corporate IT strategy.

Vernon is quick to point out that government IT is not merely about streamlining bureaucracy. "I think the Home Office has one of the most fascinating portfolios of change that exists," she says. "We do everything from transactional systems to real leading-edge technology - I don't think you'll find that scale of IT change anywhere in the private sector or even in many other government departments. It is an absolutely fantastic portfolio and a very challenging one."

One of the largest of these projects is the UK's National Identity Scheme, a £4.8bn programme to deliver biometric ID cards to the nation's citizens. The Home Office says that the benefits of the 30 cards include their use as a simple and universal proof of age and identity. They can also be used to travel around the European Union in place of a passport.

The scheme has attracted fierce opposition from privacy and civil liberties campaigners - and some technical experts - over the implications of collecting and storing an individual's biometric data, not to mention the projected cost of the initiative. However, more than 100,000 ID cards have now been issued for foreign nationals living in the UK, through the UK Border Agency. The first ID cards for UK citizens were issued to Manchester residents from 30 November 2009.

Identity kit

The area of identity is home territory for Vernon. She was formerly CIO for the Identity and Passport Service, the government agency responsible for delivering the ID card scheme, before moving to her current role at the Home Office.

In addition to such massive projects, Vernon is responsible for the "corporate" IT that supports the operations of the Home Office, ensuring that it is aligned with the wider government IT strategy on issues such as efficiency savings and green IT.

The Home Office recently signed £430 million in new IT services agreements with Fujitsu and Atos Origin, covering applications hosting, desktops and networking for 24,000 staff across the Home Office and UK Border Agency. Those deals will reduce the department's IT costs by £100m over the lifetime of the contracts (now extended to 2016) - a 25% cash saving.

But, for Vernon, being a CIO in the public sector isn't just about the challenge of massive change and transformation projects. And it certainly isn't about the money - especially compared to some of the hefty private sector CIO remuneration packages dangled by recruitment consultants.

She has spent her entire career in the public sector, attracted by a genuine sense of public service, with the opportunity to make a positive difference to millions of people's lives. "I have been a civil servant since 1984. Although it might sound a bit clichd, a lot of things we engage in make a real difference," she highlights. "That's what really makes me appreciate being a CIO in government - supporting people and delivering better public services."

Rising through the ranks

Vernon rose to her current position of influence via a path that took her to several government agencies, projects and departments. "I've come up through the ranks," she says. "I've been involved in coding, design, prototyping, release management, project management, support, testing and implementation."

Initially an administrative officer within the UK's Department for Social Security (DSS), Vernon worked on mobility allowance and legal aid, when she responded to an initiative to draw more DSS staff into IT. Attracted, she admits, by the prospect of a higher starting grade and salary, she passed the aptitude exam and became an executive officer, working as a COBOL programmer on income support systems.

In 1992, Vernon found herself seconded to the Australian DSS for nine months, as part of the Five Nations Exchange Scheme, in order to learn how to run second-line support for IBM infrastructure - most of the UK government's computing then was powered by systems from UK computer maker and IT services company ICL (acquired by Fujitsu in 1990) but was beginning to move to some projects supported by IBM mainframes.

It was when she returned to the UK that Vernon found herself drawn to the business side of IT rather than the "tin and wires". She was seconded to the Child Support Agency to troubleshoot some of the IT problems it had suffered since its launch in 1993.

Following that, Vernon worked on the design for the Jobseeker's Allowance Payment System and the Lone Parent Prototype, with the aim of joining up systems across the Benefits Agency, Child Support Agency and local authority agencies, so that single parents had a single point of contact and were given the capability to claim electronically.

Transforming legal services

Vernon's biggest achievements have come during her time as director of information services and then CIO for the Department for Constitutional Affairs (now the Ministry of Justice).

Her first was Money Claim Online, one of the first government services to be put online in the early days of "e-government". This allows people to claim back money through the civil court system - Vernon herself says she used it successfully against her dry cleaner. It now processes 10 times more cases than originally envisaged, and one of the main transactions is people reclaiming unfair bank charges.

Then there was the award-winning Xhibit project, a portal that allows interested parties to share real-time information on the progress of cases through the courts. The service is used by criminal justice agency staff, the police, voluntary organisations, victims, witnesses and the public.

Through Xhibit, court users are updated on cases by text and email. The system helps keep witnesses and victims up to date and ensures police officers can be alerted to when they are needed in court with a few hours' notice instead of them being required to wait around all day. As well as the obvious practical benefits, Vernon says Xhibit has improved efficiency, enabled faster updating of the Police National Computer, and saved hours of wasted public and police time through better witness management and fewer unnecessary court adjournments.

"There was a huge business case behind being able to call people to court and make that information available electronically," she explains. The system was so successful that it was an important factor in Vernon receiving a CBE, with the honour presented by the Queen. ("One of my proudest moments was taking my parents to the Palace," she says.)

For Vernon, the attributes required for becoming a successful CIO in government are not a million miles away from those required in the private sector. She believes it is being passionate about what you are delivering and being able to cast your influence widely.

"I was totally committed to the delivery of those projects," she says. "The other thing you learn is that to achieve joined-up business goals and better public services you need to be able to influence across organisational boundaries. You have to utterly believe in what you're doing and then get the commitment. It's all about collaborative working and being able to influence without direct authority."

ANNETTE VERNON: THE RESUME

1984-1985: Department of Social Security - Officer dealing with Mobility Allowance
1985-1992: Department of Social Security and Employment Services - Various IT posts
1992-1993: Australian Department of Social Security - Seconded to Five Nations Exchange Scheme
1993-1995: Child Support Agency - Seconded to CSA
1995-1996: Jobseekers Allowance Payment System - Design, production and requirements manager
1996-1999: Benefits Agency - Modern services project architect
1999-2002: Department of Constitutional Affairs - Director of Information Services Division
2006-2008: National Identity Scheme and Passport Service - Chief information officer
2008-present: Home Office - Chief information officer