IfG.CC - The Potsdam eGovernment Competence Center

Labour ministers have been accused of "colossal ineptitude" amid reports that the Government has sqandered £1.5 billion of taxpayers money on failed IT projects. According to Computer Magazine, huge sums have been written off or wasted on a series of information technology disasters in Whitehall departments - including £180 million on the National Air Traffic Service, £698 million on a scrapped smartcard benefits payments system; another £134 million on a failed training scheme; and a further £77 million on an IT scheme for the immigration service which did not work.

Greg Knight, the Shadow Minister with responsibility for E-Government was scathing with his criticism.

He said: "The Government's record on botched and cancelled IT schemes is an absolute scandal. The fact that Labour have wasted £1.5 billion of tax payers money on these failed IT projects demonstrates colossal ineptitude and that they have failed to harness information technology in the public sector.

"Failing and over-budget IT projects mean yet more public cash that should be going on front line public services is being wasted on government inefficiency, over-complexity and bungled procurements. It also proves that despite their rhetoric, Labour are not investing tax payers money -they are simply wasting it."

He told Conservatives.com: "These failed IT schemes show that the Government's record is an appalling one of managerial incompetence coupled with financial incontinence!"

Quelle: Conservatives