The
Department of Health is seeking corrections to the official
records of parliament after two ministers attributed to the
National Audit Office positive statements on the
NHS’s £12.4bn IT plan (NPfIT) that auditors did not
make.
The corrections being sought by the department, which follow an
investigation by Computer Weekly, are likely to add to scepticism
within the IT industry about the extent to which ministerial
statements on the progress of major technology projects can be
relied upon.
The Department of Health has conceded to Computer Weekly that it
gave unclear briefing notes to ministers in advance of a Commons
debate on the NPfIT.
In the debate on 6 June 2007, two ministers, Caroline Flint and
Ivan Lewis, attributed to public spending watchdog the
National Audit Office positive statements on the NPfIT that
auditors did not actually make.
The separate ministerial statements gave the impression that the
National Audit Office had, in its report on the NPfIT, given
unequivocal backing to the programme: to the way it was being
managed, the excellence of contracts with suppliers, adherence to
budgets, and to major savings having been achieved.
But the National Audit Office report in June 2006 contained none
of the specific statements attributed to it by ministers, except
one – that substantial progress had been made.
The report was largely positive about the NPfIT but said the
success of the programme “continues to present significant
challenges”.
MP Richard Bacon, a member of the Public Accounts Committee,
said the briefing given to ministers carelessly represented facts
in the National Audit Office report and suggested that the
programme had been more successful than it actually was.
The main aim of the NPfIT is to give 50 million people in
England a reliable electronic health record that can be accessed by
authorised clinicians whenever they need it.
The Department of Health said it accepts that in its briefing
notes to ministers about the National Audit Office report on the
NPfIT there was “lack of clarity on what was direct quote and what
was reported speech”.
The spokesman added, “We will be contacting Hansard [which keeps
the official record of parliamentary proceedings] to check their
transcription and set this straight.”
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