Politics to blame for government IT blunders, say MPs

Lack of IT engineering advice means political pressures causing bad decisions on IT projects, says Commons committee report

Politics over-rides IT advice

Government computer blunders are being caused by political priorities over-riding the advice of IT experts, according to MPs.

A lack of timely IT engineering advice at an early stage and excessive political pressures have been highlighted in a Commons report as a cause of repeated and ongoing problems that could imperil the ID cards and NHS IT system projects.

The Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee said large IT systems are an area of government "that has and continues to experience both bad press and implementation problems".

It said: "Some would assert that specifications have been driven by political imperatives rather than being derived from operational requirements, a situation which would apply at both the ID Card project and the [NHS] National IT Programme.

"It is possible that this approach has led to decisions about the architecture of systems being taken or assumed before detailed expert advice was taken."

The committee drew a distinction between "often good and realistic" advice to ministers on the procurement of systems, "and the advice received in the development of policies which are delivered through the procurement of IT, which is often lacking."

The report also voiced concern that the UK is likely to miss out on the economic return from developing new technologies such as plastic electronics, and called for "a serious revision of the structures used to support the growth of fledgling industries."

The key theme of the report was the shortage of engineers in the UK, and the lack of engineers in the higher ranks of civil servants. The MPs called for the appointment of a chief engineer, working under a chief scientist in the Cabinet Office, and an engineering or scientific adviser to have a place on all departmental boards.

Committee chairman Phil Willis said the problem with IT projects was that engineering advice was taken after initial policy decisions had been taken.

"Civil servants often fail to seek engineering advice in time and sometimes at all," he said.