Watchdog condemns court computers

Libra was aimed at improving court computer links

A new computer system for magistrates courts in England and Wales unfinished after years of spiralling costs has been condemned as a "shocking waste of taxpayers' money".

Edward Leigh, chairman of the influential Commons public accounts committee, said the Libra scheme was "one of the worst IT projects" he had ever seen.

It may be the shoddiest PFI project ever

Edward Leigh
Public accounts committee

Costs have more than doubled but courts will be able to use the system for two years less than planned, says a new report from the National Audit Office.

The £184m private finance initiative deal signed with ICL (now Fujitsu Services) in 1998, has now risen to £318m.

The criticism from two key spending watchdogs is likely to fuel trade union criticism of private finance initiatives (PFI).

'Piecemeal' links

The problems with a system aimed at updating inadequate court computer systems also come amid government attempts to make the court system more efficient.

Current systems, says the National Audit Office (NAO), mean courts cannot share information electronically.

Electronic transfers of data with other law enforcement agencies is "piecemeal", it says.

Edward Leigh: Basic mistakes from government

Conservative MP Mr Leigh said: "It may be the shoddiest PFI project ever.

"Not only has the cost more than doubled since the original bid but the system will be available for two years less than originally planned.

"This is a shocking waste of money."

Despite 20 years of "throwing" money at courts IT failings, there was still no working system, he said.

Mr Leigh argued the NAO report revealed a "catalogue of errors".

ICL had performed poorly but the Lord Chancellor's Department, which signed the deal, made "some truly basic mistakes", he said.

"They did not properly assess ICL's bid at the very start, and as things got worse, they allowed ICL to run rings around them," he added.

The NAO report shows the initial £184m contract over 10-and-a-half years was renegotiated at a price of £319m over 14-and-half-years.

Safeguards warning

The NAO says ICL was in breach of contract because it had not delivered the core equipment to the first site by July 2001.

But the Lord Chancellor's Department did not end the contract because it feared a costly court battle with ICL and delays.

Last year, the department agreed ICL would only deliver parts of the project, with hopes for new contracts with other companies to be signed.

Sir John Bourn, head of the NAO, said this experience served as a warning.

"In a single tender situation, departments need to take special care to safeguard value for money."

He argued contingency plans should be in place.

Improvements

Ian Magee, chief executive of the Court Service, said in a statement more effective controls on Libra were now in place.

"The new arrangement is designed to ensure the success of the programme while simultaneously placing appropriate risk with the respective providers and the department."

Fujitsu Services said it believed all those involved with the project had learned from it.

A spokesman said the roll-out of the infrastructure was on schedule, with an 8.4 out of 10 customer satisfaction rating from courts.