PwC in £350m Whitehall IT deal
PricewaterhouseCoopers is set to begin work on a radical £350m IT contract which will herald a sweeping reorganisation of the Home Office.
The government department will next week start a radical rethink of its operations – timed to coincide with the beginning of the PFI contract. PwC won the deal as part of a partnership with e-business services company ICL and Global Crossing.
The consortium – which works under the name Sirius – is expected to be valued at £350m over 10 years, and was won after it beat off competition from Siemens and the Sema Group.
It forms part of the government’s e-initiative to bring all agency services online by 2005.
Ken Crossland, partner and head of government and defence with PwC management consulting services, said: ‘PwC is delighted to be part of Sirius and to work in partnership with the Home Office dealing with issues that sit at the heart of the modernising government agenda.’
PwC will provide the agency with business advice and business change services. ICL – the main contractor – will manage the IT 2000 services and provision of IT support. Global Crossing will manage data networks and telephony services.
A spokesperson at the Home Office said: ‘IT 2000 is extremely important for the future of the Home Office. Good IT is now essential to our work, and improving our business processes is essential for the delivery of our aims and for meeting government targets. This contract will be the vehicle for both.’
The Home Office had previously worked with Siemens to develop the Passport Agency’s system, and Immigration and Nationality Department’s system – both of which suffered problems during the summer of 1999.
Some stages of the project will coincide with the Home Office’s planned move across London from its Queen Anne?s Gate site to Marsham Street in 2004.
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