2 years inaction on failing IT scheme

12.00.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Sun 7th Oct 2007

Cambridgeshire County Council has been criticised by a cross-party committee for allowing £300k to be wasted on a failing IT project.

The criticism came during a meeting of the Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee. The Committee was investigating the SWIFT information management system which records information about those who use adult social care services. The committee found that £300k over the last two years have been paid to contractor Anite who failed to fix any of the known problems in the software.

Liberal Democrat Health and Adult Social Care spokesperson, Councillor Geoff Heathcock, commented:

"The County Council Cabinet have known for a long time that there were many problems with this project but it is only two years later that they are finally looking at why £300k has been spent and nothing has happened.

"It has taken the cross-party Scrutiny committee to dig up this tale of mismanagement.

"Why was this allowed to go on for so long? Why was this project not monitored and why did the Cabinet not take action earlier to fix the problem?

"A lot of money and time has been wasted and the IT system still fails to meet the needs of those working with vulnerable older people. Too much time is wasted entering details again and again, this is time that staff do not have."

The Scrutiny Committee called for Cabinet to take action. Coun Heathcock added:

Cllr Geoff Heathcock

"It is time that the Cabinet got on with what they should have done two years ago. This cannot be allowed to go on. Who will take ultimate responsibility for this mess?"