Government drafts in tech exec to slash spending

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 25 Jun 2008 at 09:20

The Government has drafted in a former Logica chief executive Martin Read, as it looks to slash the £13 billion it spends on IT every year.

The Government has been spurred into action by a number of recent, high-profile Government projects going over budget, including the NHS and Child Support Agency systems.

Read will be part of a 12 month review of public-sector spending, which the Treasury hopes will help the Government catch up with the private sector when it comes to efficient IT spending.

Among his responsibilities, Read will be looking at improving the Government's track record on delivering IT systems, and its IT procurement policies for hardware and software.

Intriguingly, the Treasury also noted that the Government had to learn to abandon failing projects, rather than pushing ahead with them doggedly. It also refuted suggestions that Read had been brought in as a replacement for the Government's chief information officer John Suffolk.