DEFRA Livestock Information Service alpha
DEFRA's Livestock Information Service alpha assessment report
Service standard report
Livestock Information Service
| Assessment date | 09/09/2026 |
| Assessment stage | Alpha |
| Assessment type | Assessment |
| Service provider | Core Defra |
| Result | Green |
Service description
Livestock keepers currently have to report birth, movement and death data to government using three different services, each built by different companies to different standards, using different login credentials and offering a different design experience. Some of these legacy systems are struggling to cope with demand and are becoming prone to failure.
The Livestock Information Service aims to create a multispecies livestock traceability service which allows animal keepers to view and administer the animals on their holding through one consistently designed, modern system.
Service users
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Livestock keepers
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Back-office support teams
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Animal and Plant Health Agency disease tracing and response teams
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Enforcement and inspection specialists
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Markets
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Abattoirs
High level user needs
- As a…keeper of livestock,
I need to… report when an animal is born, moves on or off my holding or dies,
so that I can… ensure that I remain compliant with my legal obligations
- As a… colleague on the livestock information service support team,
I need to… view and make changes to livestock information on holdings,
so that I can… guide users or act on their behalf when they contact me for help.
- As a… member of the APHA animal disease tracing and response unit
I need to… identify what animals originated from where and see where they might have moved to and what other animals they might have encountered
so that I can… act to slow or prevent the spread of animal diseases.
- As a… enforcement and inspections specialist
I need to… see the details of animals on a keeper’s holding
so that I can… compare what is present to what has been declared and form a view of the keeper’s compliance with legislation
- As a… livestock market administrator,
I need to… register movements of livestock onto and off my market location,
so that I can… remain compliant with legislation by ensuring continuity of livestock tracing information
- As a… abattoir administrator
I need to… register movements of livestock onto my abattoir location, and record animal deaths, sometimes at volume,
So that I can… remain compliant with legislation by ensuring continuity of livestock tracing information.
Things the service team has done well:
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The team is taking a comprehensive and proactive approach to performance analytics and has embedded this within agile ways of working.
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The team has put strong foundations in place, making good use of the Common Development Platform, GOV.UK components, DEFRA patterns and open standards rather than creating bespoke solutions. Their approach to open-source development, API-led integration, automated testing, monitoring and security demonstrates a commitment to building a modern, maintainable and reliable service.
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Designed a specific part of the users’ journey (cattle births) whilst considering how to integrate other parts of the journey (cattle movements; other species) in future.
1. Understand users and their needs
Decision
The service was rated green for point 1 of the Standard.
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The team may want to consider recruitment options outside of their panel if access needs or user contexts are not coming through via this panel; the team should keep an eye on this to continue a good spread of participants going forwards.
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Testing with accessibility software should be a focus for upcoming user research as the code moves into production environment.
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Roleplaying/testing with the IVR service should be conducted to ensure this is fit for purpose as an AD route and meets users’ needs.
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The team should continue to design a service that foremost works to government service standards and continue to only bring in CTS elements or content where clear user needs dictate.
2. Solve a whole problem for users
Decision
The service was rated green for point 2 of the Standard.
- Test the journey from 3rd party software into the service, with 3rd party software being a high entry-point for farmers.
3. Provide a joined-up experience across all channels
Decision
The service was rated green for point 3 of the Standard.
- Consider keeping a paper route for farmers with low digital literacy – whilst still trying to reduce duplicate effort with the online service because of legislation.
4. Make the service simple to use
Decision
The service was rated green for point 4 of the Standard.
- Consider adding the acronym tag to CPH and any tags that new keepers are not likely to know – to create a consistent ‘self-help’ experience
5. Make sure everyone can use the service
Decision
The service was rated green for point 5 of the Standard.
- If you’re not already, test your designs with a range of assistive technology software – including colour contrast checkers. This will help you anticipate any issues when testing with access needs users, and in your audits
6. Have a multidisciplinary team
Decision
The service was rated green for serviceassessments@dsit.gov.uk.
7. Use agile ways of working
Assessed by: Lead assessor
Decision
The service was rated green for point 7 of the Standard.
8. Iterate and improve frequently
Assessed by: Lead assessor with input from user research, design and performance analyst when relevant
Decision
The service was rated green for point 8 of the Standard.
Optional advice to help the service team continually improve the service:
- Consider sharing design iterations that may be of interest to other government teams – using something like a Design History What is a design history? - GOV.UK Design History
9. Create a secure service which protects users’ privacy
Decision
The service was rated green for serviceassessments@dsit.gov.uk.
- The team should be mindful of the challenges of implementing digital knowledge-based verification in a sector where users may represent a wide range of business types, ownership models and roles.
10. Define what success looks like and publish performance data
Decision
The service was rated green for point 10 of the Standard.
Optional advice to help the service team continually improve the service:
- The team should continue to work with operational areas to ensure meaningful baselines are defined for success metrics.
11. Choose the right tools and technology
Decision
The service was rated green for point 11 of the Standard.
12. Make new source code open
If possible, link to GitHub or other open repositories
Decision
The service was rated green for point 12 of the Standard.
13. Use and contribute to open standards, common components and patterns
Decision
The service was rated green for point 13 of the Standard.
14. Operate a reliable service
Decision
The service was rated green for point 14 of the Standard.
Next Steps
This service can now move into a private beta phase, subject to getting approval from the GDS spend control team. The service must meet the standard at beta assessment before launching public beta.