The £600m TCS DWP contract may be for the axe

Along with four other major IT commitments made by the last government

TCS Pada contract might come under the spotlight

The £600m computer project underpinning personal pension reforms introduced by the last government may be among the contracts at most risk of cancellation as the Lib-Con coalition scrambles to find £6bn of savings for 2010.

It is one of five major commitments undertaken by the Labour Party about which new ministers are understood to have expressed serious concerns.

It is also likely to be one of the contracts around which permanent secretaries — the accounting officers of government departments — have demanded "letters of direction" formally instructing them to proceed with a commitment against the advice of officials.

Jonathan Baume, general secretary of the First Division Association, the Whitehall mandarins' union, revealed on BBC5 Live that "a number" of these letters, which indicate serious disagreement between ministers and officials over the propriety of a spending commitment, were requested before the general election.

He did not give details on the contracts referred to in the letters, but it is understood that they include consultancies and procurement decisions, possibly including the pensions system.

Such letters have to be disclosed in departments' annual reports and accounts and to the Commons Public Accounts Committee, which usually holds a special hearing. The new Commons has yet to appoint this committee.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, Lib Dem leader, confirmed in a major speech on constitutional reform that the ID card scheme, national identity register and ContactPoint children's database would all be scrapped.