Government may publish NHS IT project reviews

MPs are considering the case for publishing reviews

The government is to re-consider the case for publishing the internal project reviews of the £12.7bn NHS National Programme for IT.

Until recently government departments had repeatedly refused Freedom of Information requests to obtain copies of Gateway reviews, which assess public sector projects at five key stages of implementation.

But earlier this month, Whitehall buying agency the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) finally published the initial "Gate Zero" reviews for the National Identity Scheme, after being ordered to do so by the Information Tribunal.

At the time both the OGC and the Tribunal made clear that the decision was based on an individual case and was not intended to set a precedent for the publishing of Gateway reviews.

But in response to a written request to publish the reviews, health minister Ben Bradshaw said: "We are reviewing our previous policy not to disclose the review reports in light of the recent decision by the Office of Government Commerce to disclose two Gate Zero review reports on the identity cards programme. No final decision has yet been taken."

There would be huge interest in the content of the reviews for such a high-profile project as the NHS IT programme, which has suffered major delays and difficulties in some of its key projects.