The Government is seeking ways of persuading more major IT
companies to bid for public sector work, the e-envoy Andrew Pinder
has told MPs.
At a meeting of Parliament's main financial watchdog, the House of
Commons Public Accounts Committee, Pinder said too few of the
computer giants are prepared to tender for Whitehall
contracts.
Backed by Hugh Barrett, executive director for supplier relations
and e-commerce at the Office of Government Commerce, Pinder said
too many suppliers believe that contracts are awarded purely on the
basis of lowest cost.
His comments come as EDS and Accenture are poised to bid jointly
for the Inland Revenue and national insurance computer systems,
which they respectively already run separately. This is understood
to have scared off competitors from bidding.
Pinder agreed with Liberal Democrat MP David Rendel that the
Government is "getting too dependent on too few IT suppliers".
He said he is concerned about this and that the Government is
working to persuade possible suppliers that the wider question of
"value for money'' rather than low price is the main consideration.
Pinder said the Government is also trying to reduce the protracted
length of time it takes to award contracts, which is a major
disincentive to bidding. He added that some companies are wary of
the potential damage to their reputation from a high-profile
government contract going wrong and the publicity that comes with
it.