§ Mr. Alan SimpsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on the Trawlerman IT project; for what reasons it was abandoned without use; and if he will make a statement. [88134]
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§ Mr. SpellarA fixed price contract was let in July 1988 and ultimately the MOD spent £42 million on the Trawlerman IT project. The project experienced serious technical difficulties and delays such that, by the time it was delivered in May 1995, some 3½ years late, it was obsolete. The problems experienced by this project go back to the early 1990s. The Department subsequently acquired a replacement system at a fraction of the cost (£6 million), using a modern off-the-shelf design and applying the lessons learned from the experience of Trawlerman. Lessons have been learnt and procurement procedures have been improved with the introduction of the Smart Procurement Initiative launched earlier this year under the Strategic Defence Review. Further information is contained in the Eighteenth Report, Session 1988–99 of the Committee of Public Account on the Ministry of Defence: Appropriation Accounts 1997–98.