Parliamentary debates

From OpenEGov

Vote on Account, 2005–06 — IT Projects (DWP)

Some quotes (various speakers):

• resources, not exceeding £26,303,662,000, be authorised on account, for use as set out in HC 1235 of Session 2003–04 - not all IT but a hell of a big pot... no one appeared to know what part of this actually was IT
• the Government were more concerned with hiding behind commercial confidentiality than were the commercial suppliers...
• The thing that worried me most was the Department's refusal to inform Parliament on a routine and regular basis about proposed IT projects
• The biggest block is the difficulty that Departments seem to have in being free and open with the information that Parliament needs. Given that we will enter new territory on freedom of information early next year, people will start looking for recourse through the courts if they do not get the information that they want, such as business process statements and gateway reviews, transparently and openly from the Government. People will go to the Information Commissioner and ask for information that is withheld by Departments on the ground that their work is paid for by taxpayers' money. Parliament is entitled to know about expensive projects.
• Computer Weekly, which has been referred to several times, has suggested that project gateway reviews should be published in the public domain. In the United States of America, they have gone further by passing the Clinger-Cohen Act, which requires departments to report to Congress during the life of a project and highlight any deviations from that project specification.
• I was shocked, when I read my hon. Friend's report, to find that ... the Information Technology Services Agency of the Department for Work and Pensions—had been contracted out: handed over to one of the poachers, as it were. That is extraordinary. There is a concept in economic regulation called regulatory capture, whereby the regulator wants a quiet life and the best way to get it is to get on well with the people he is regulating. It is regulatory capture gone mad to hand over the people who know about managing IT projects to the people whose projects they are supposed to be managing.
• we are taking steps to increase the number of suppliers with which the DWP does business. We need access to a greater range of suppliers if we are to take advantage of the best that the market has to offer. Although existing suppliers such as EDS and BT will be free to bid for future work, we have made it clear that a natural result of this strategy is likely to be a reduction in traditional suppliers' share of DWP business. However, our traditional suppliers will continue to be important to our ability to deliver modern and effective services to customers.