Andersen Consulting has denied allegations levelled at it in the
Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report published last week which
claimed the controversial National Insurance computer system Nirs2
was not yet fully functional.
Based on a hearing in March, the select committee of MPs raised
questions about areas where the system was not fully operational,
in particular personal and occupational pensions, and said it was
concerned that the Nirs2 system would not reach "a steady state"
until April 2001.
But Andersen took issue with the findings in the report,
insisting that the system had been fully functional when the
hearing took place in March.
"We don't accept that criticism. It was fully functional at the
time of the Public Accounts Committee hearing," Andersen told
Computer Weekly.
"Andersen Consulting's view is that the system is fully
functional and up-and-running, and that the Inland Revenue is happy
with the progress of the system," a spokesperson for the company
added.
The supplier refused to comment on whether or not the Inland
Revenue was struggling with a backlog of work due to problems with
the system.
The Inland Revenue said the system was already stable with all
key functionality available but that business recovery was still
under way following earlier delays. The Revenue said it expected
the system recovery to be largely complete by April 2001.
Central to the report was the issue of intellectual property
rights, which, under the original terms of the contract, Andersen
Consulting was to retain, meaning that if the Government wanted to
change supplier, the rights would have to be purchased from
Andersen.
Commenting on the issue, a spokesman for Andersen said the
company had "seriously under-bid its rivals" because it believed
intellectual property rights were an asset. "It's a little bit
churlish for the Government to come back complaining about
intellectual property rights when it got a really good deal," he
said.