By Lucy Phillips
2 March 2011
Government IT is locked in a ‘vicious circle of failure’ that costs £16bn a year, a leading think-tank has warned today.
A report from the Institute for Government says that, despite the vast sums of money spent on computer technology, the government is failing to get the basics right and falling further and further behind hi-tech advances. This has resulted in ‘billions in wasted money and time’.
The report System error: fixing the flaws in government IT is based on interviews with 70 Whitehall IT insiders, suppliers and external experts.
It says cancelled projects such as the £5bn National Identity Scheme and £12.7bn national NHS programme show government IT ‘remains in an outdated model which attempts to lock project requirements up-front’ – not taking into account changing political priorities and unpredictable developments in technology.
Projects then proceed at a ‘glacial pace’, with the average IT procurement process taking 77 weeks, the reports says.
The think-tank calls for a ‘radical re-think’ of the government’s IT strategy ending expensive long-term contracts that lock in public funds. The new approach should be ‘agile’, meaning projects respond to change as they are developed through user feedback, and ‘platform’, meaning elements are simplified and shared Whitehall-wide.
Andrew Adonis, director of the IfG, said: ‘If a new approach to IT in government is not now put into practice, this will risk further haemorrhaging of public money. This report shows there is a better way that is more flexible and allows for the fact that government priorities continuously shift.’
