Serco has its wrists slapped by government for trying to pass the buck

Serco has had to apologise to its suppliers after trying to get them to reduce their costs so it could meet the cost cutting targets set on it by the government.

According to an article in The Telegraph, Serco, which is a major IT supplier to government, wrote to its major suppliers asking for a 2.5% rebate in return for still being considered for future contracts.

The government is furious according to the report. This is against the spirit of the cost cutting. It was supposed to encourage suppliers to find innovative ways of providing more for less.

The Telegraph article quoted a Cabinet Office spokesman as saying: "We unequivocally disagree with and are highly critical of the approach taken by Serco. Francis Maude will be calling them in to explain themselves."

According to an article on The Register Serco has apologised. "As a company that values our relationships with all our supply chain partners, large and small, we deeply regret this action and apologize unreservedly to them for the concern that this has caused."