Election promises put Whitehall IT in jeopardy

Experts are warning public sector IT managers to prepare for a crisis in funding following the expected general election in May, despite both leading parties promising civil service reforms requiring efficiencies generated by IT.

Both Labour and the Conservatives have backed the Gershon Review on public sector spending, which proposes to use IT to improve back-office efficiency. This could lead to high levels of IT spending in the short term, but the UK's e-government strategy could be derailed if investment is reduced too soon.

A great deal of infrastructure investment is still needed, said Marianne Kolding of research firm IDC. "A lot of front-office work has been done," she said. "But back-office work, like providing transactional services, hasn't been undertaken."

Beatrice Rogers of IT trade body Intellect expressed concern at the Tory plans. "I cannot see £35bn of cuts (a year) being achieved without an impact on the (current level of) IT spend," she said.

A Tory spokesman argued that advances in IT would allow 235,000 civil service posts to be cut.

Regardless of the election result, pressure on budgets will rise. Kate Mountain of public-sector IT staff body Socitm said, "IT chiefs will have to work hard to keep convincing superiors that the only way to achieve efficiency is through IT."