Scrapped framework contract costs firms

Government axes IT catalogue for the second time in as many years

Suppliers have wasted money bidding for cancelled deal

The government has scrapped the procurement of a framework contract designed to handle £1.5bn-worth of IT design and consultancy deals during its four-year life.

Catalist is a series of 11 pre-evaluated supplier lists designed to reduce the time and cost of public sector purchasing.

The cancellation of the catalogueís 'Integrated Solutions' procurement is the second time that OGCbuying.solutions (OGCbs), the agency responsible for Catalist, has cancelled a deal.

Insiders say the change of direction threatens the governmentís reputation for commercial good practice.

The earlier Total Solutions framework was halted in April last year because it was overtaken by the governmentís shared services plan.

Companies bidding for the contracts will have lost a great deal of money, says Ovum principal analyst Peter Clarke.

'For the second time in as many years most of the big suppliers have been persuaded to spend money bidding for a mega-deal framework only to see their money wasted,' he said.

The Integrated Solutions list was designed to handle the major programmes envisaged as a part of the Transformational Government strategy, published in November 2005.

OGCbs needs to be clear how such contracts will now be let, says Clarke.

'Are individual departments expected to engage in piecemeal procurements?' he said.

Technology suppliers say that without the pre-tendered catalogue, costs will rise.

'We have spent considerable sums bidding and we cannot see why it has been cancelled,' said one major global supplier.

An OGCbs spokesman said: 'It is better to stop now than to continue with what has become a complex framework that risks not meeting its purpose.'