Can website designers "challenge" UK government policy?

Writing 18 months ago about Martha-now-Lady Lane Fox's call for a revolution in the UK, we noted among others this demand:

Directgov should own the citizen experience of digital public services and be tasked with driving a 'service culture' across government which could, for example, challenge any policy and practice that undermines good service design.

In the event, the revolutionary cadre implementing the new dispensation is GDS, the Government Digital Service, and not Directgov. GDS's skill lies in designing websites. Can website designers "challenge" UK government policy?

As it turns out, yes:

GDS unable to approve Immigration 'live digital by default' request The Government Digital Service (GDS) says it has been unable to approve a request from the "Report an Immigration or Smuggling Crime" initiative to be branded as "live digital by default" on the service.gov.uk domain. The "Report an Immigration or Smuggling Crime" service within the Home Office's Border Force allows the public to submit information about foreign nationals working or living illegally in the UK or any kind of smuggling. In its assessment carried out on 23rd April, GDS said it was pleased to see significant progress had been made since the first assessment with regards to putting users first and undertaking user research. However, it added, "there are a number of areas which need to be addressed in order for the service to meet the criteria for becoming a Live Digital by Default service."

You may or may not think the Home Office's initiative is a good idea. It doesn't matter. The point is that it's their initiative. And they can't pursue it because a group of website designers say so.