IT Projects

HC Deb 21 February 2000 vol 344 cc739-40W

Angela Smith

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what progress has been made in her Department's review of the handling of major IT projects. [111307]

Mr. Ian McCartney

The Cabinet Office study of major IT projects has made its first recommendations. These have been approved by the study steering committee and adopted by the Government. They demonstrate that the Government is committed to taking prompt and targeted action to improve performance and to ensuring that the pillars that support successful IT projects are put in place.

The recommendations cover:

Ministers Ministers have to take a strong role in overseeing and scrutinising major IT projects. The Government have already introduced the first ever events to build ministers' awareness about their roles. IT projects will be a top priority.

Supplier Planning It is vital that suppliers fully understand the requirements for a new system, and only promise what is realistic. They will now be required to produce detailed plans, to demonstrate to the Government how they will deliver, that will be monitored as projects go ahead. These will be set alongside the business plans that the Government have to make.

Peer Review All high risk projects will be reviewed as they are developed. Departments will have to work with a team of independent experienced project managers to make sure that their projects are safe to go ahead.

Sharing Experience We will establish a new system for sharing knowledge about IT projects across the Government, so everyone has the benefit of the best practice available. It is essential that we learn the lessons from projects as they proceed, share good ways of working and ensure that different parts of Government co-operate as closely as possible.

Managing suppliers The Government are setting up the new Office of Government Commerce to make sure we manage suppliers in a strategic way across the public sector. IT suppliers will be the first priority for this work.

These recommendations will make a real difference, but they are, of course, only a start. The study team will in due course propose further measures to address other aspects of the handling of IT projects.