Latest news with #ITproject
Telegraph
6 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Housing quango ‘wastes' £117m on botched IT project – enough to build 3,000 homes
The quango at the heart of Angela Rayner's housebuilding drive wasted £117m on a botched IT project – enough to build more than 3,000 new homes, reports suggest. Homes England continued to spend taxpayer money on IT project, Evolve, despite years of warnings about its failings, The i Paper reported. Critics said 'public money has gone up in smoke', and the waste goes against Prime Minister Keir Starmer's pledge to boost efficiency and value for money across government quangos. Homes England vehemently denies the money was 'wasted' and claims systems implemented by the project will deliver up to £95m in public benefits over the next decade. Evolve began in 2019 and was meant to modernise the quango's error-prone computer systems. But a 2022 document raised internally found the project lacked 'basic digital capabilities,' according to a Freedom of Information request sent by The i. In March 2024, consultancy firm, KPMG, conducted a review into Evolve on behalf of the government agency. After five Freedom of Information requests, reporters were shown the review which concluded the project was 'impossible' to deliver. KPMG later upgraded this conclusion to 'very challenging'. Homes England staff reportedly told consultants that the Evolve scheme was 'closed and secretive'. The KPMG review, as reported by The i, stated: 'Colleagues did not believe that the programme scope was achievable and there were significant differences of opinion as to what that scope was.' Despite this, the programme was only halted in May this year. A senior director in a large housing association told The i: 'Enough public money to fund thousands of new homes has gone up in smoke and nobody has truly been held to account.' A source at Ms Rayner's department said the quango would be under 'greater scrutiny' moving forward.
ABC News
28-07-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Wyndham City Council referred to IBAC as MP claims tens of millions 'flushed down the toilet' on failed IT project
A council in Melbourne's booming outer south-west has been referred to the state's anti-corruption watchdog over a failed IT project worth tens of millions of dollars. The issue emerged when representatives from Wyndham City Council faced a fiery parliamentary committee hearing into fraud and corruption controls in local government. Labor's MP for Point Cook, Mat Hilakari, questioned whether the council did enough to inform ratepayers about the cost blowout, which he put at $69 million. But the council defended its transparency, saying information about the project was publicly available. In 2018, the council appointed tech company Oracle Australia to provide software that could combine council functions on one platform. It was supposed to be a $20 million project, taking two years. But four years later, the project was running nearly $20 million over budget. So the council terminated the contract and engaged a new company, TechnologyOne, to do the work. Mr Hilakari told the inquiry he estimated the cost blowout for the entire project at nearly $70 million. "I would put it at probably around $69 million in overruns, and this hasn't been publicly disclosed until this point in time, is that right?" he asked. The council's chief executive, Stephen Wall, said he would take the issue of the cost on notice. "But that sounds excessive," he said. Mr Hilakari asked why the failure of the original project, and the cost overrun, had not been communicated to ratepayers. "Whose decision is it not to disclose these things to the public?" he asked. Wyndham Deputy Mayor Josh Gilligan said financial decisions were all available, but said no-one had asked about them. "I just take particular umbrage with the question that suggests that we were not or were somehow not wanting to disclose cost variation to a major project," he said. "I just completely dispute that." Mr Wall agreed. "All of council's financial transactions are transparent," he said. The ABC understands the council's handling of the issue has been referred to Victoria's Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission, IBAC. The ABC understands another Wyndham councillor, Robert Szatkowski, has made a referral to Victoria's Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission, IBAC, for matters that relate to the IT project. The ABC has contacted IBAC for comment. A referral to IBAC does not mean it will launch an investigation and the ABC is not suggesting that a referral implies any findings of wrongdoing. Councillor Gilligan pointed out to Mr Hilakari that the state government was also facing cost blowouts on various projects. "You would agree that cost overruns on a state level of hundreds of millions of dollars occur, on the regular?" he asked. "And we're very transparent about that," Mr Hilakari said. "As we are," Cr Gilligan insisted. "Well then you'd better tell me where the project fail of Oracle and the tens and tens of millions of dollars of ratepayer funds that were flushed down the toilet to be frank, where was that publicly disclosed?" Mr Wall said he would take that on notice, but said there was a clear business case and a tender process, and that the current IT project was a success. Wyndham council is facing backlash for diverting funds from developers in Point Cook to be used elsewhere in the municipality. Cr Gilligan told the hearing the council had a prerogative to spend money raised from Point Cook developments in another location. "That money can be spent in a location that is different to the one that you want it spent in," he said. "That is our prerogative, just as state and federal governments have their own prerogative within the realm of law to make decisions, this council has made a decision to look at spending it on an intergenerational project somewhere else." The committee is due to table its full report in November.
BBC News
22-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Dorset Council shares job cuts plan with staff
A council has vowed to try to avoid compulsory redundancies as it cuts hundreds of staff as part of an information technology Council previously said it would introduce voice automation and artificial intelligence to help save £77m by project, called Our Future Council, is estimated to cost £48m over that authority, which previously said 386 full-time equivalent posts would be lost, said it would share proposals with staff this week. Councillor Ben Wilson, in charge of corporate development and transformation, said: "We know change can be difficult."We're taking a phased approach which means initially, around 500 colleagues will be consulted this year on possible changes to the way they work."Proposals being shared with colleagues this week include a reduction of a limited number of roles."We're doing everything we can to reduce the number of compulsory redundancies, including offering voluntary options and not filling some roles when people leave." 'Digitally excluded' The council said the project would bring together staff who were "doing similar jobs using different systems and processes".It added: "Most changes will affect how the council handles customer inquiries and internal support services."For example, a new contact system will mean employees see a resident's past interactions with the council in one place."More services will also be available online, for those who want to use them."At a meeting of the council cabinet in January, UNISON branch secretary Becky Brookman questioned the savings added: "These cuts are focusing on roles that are mainly undertaken by women in low-paid positions."There is also a potential impact on customers through automation especially for older people and those digitally excluded."The first internal changes are expected in October, the council said. You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Irish Times
02-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Arts Council almost doubles legal costs on botched IT project
The Arts Council has almost doubled its spend on legal costs arising from its botched €6.7 million IT project , an Oireachtas committee has heard. The project began in 2018 and was designed to overhaul the Arts Council's system for receiving and processing funding applications with an original budget of €3 million. However, following issues and delays and with the budget increasing as time went on, the project was shelved towards the end of 2023 with an estimated loss of about €5.3 million. Senior staff at the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport appeared before the Oireachtas committee on arts on Tuesday. READ MORE Feargal Ó Coigligh, secretary general at the department, told the committee that while a figure of €60,000 was previously given for the costs of legal redress, that has since changed. 'The Arts Council have since informed the department that it is actually approximately €119,000," Mr Ó Coigligh said. The committee was previously told the council had commenced legal proceedings against two contractors for the failed IT system and was in the pre-action stage in relation to two others. This action was taken to try and minimise the cost of the IT system to the taxpayer, the council previously told the committee. [ Former Arts Council director Maureen Kennelly: 'The Minister saw the opportunity for a scalp. I was an easy target' Opens in new window ] The department had asked the council to cease any further expenditure on these legal cases. However, on Friday, the council informed the department of the increased spend. Mr Ó Coigligh told the committee on Tuesday he was 'taken aback' by the upwards revision of legal costs. 'We requested the Arts Council to cease all further expenditure, and we've since entered into discussions with the Attorney General's office for advice,' Mr Ó Coigligh said. When asked if he felt the department was not given the full picture by the Arts Council on the legal costs, Mr Ó Coigligh said: 'I think they could have been more forthcoming on the issue.' The Irish Times previously reported three companies shared €4.8 million between them from the abandoned project. Documents distributed to ministers named the main technology delivery partner, Codec, as having been paid €1,967,278, including VAT, for its work on the project – with €51,217 withheld. A second company, named as Ergo, was paid €2,107,206 including VAT across a series of contracts, several of which were extended during the project. A third firm, named as Expleo, was paid €734,701 including VAT, with another €149,125 withheld by the Arts Council.
Irish Times
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Former Arts Council director Maureen Kennelly: ‘The Minister saw the opportunity for a scalp. I was an easy target'
THE BOTCHED IT PROJECT 'None of us set out with the intention of this happening. It is deeply regrettable. There's been lots of indignation and outrage about this, but I wouldn't want that to obscure the fact that the arts sector is populated with people – and the Arts Council as well – who are highly dedicated, very responsible and committed to delivering value for money for the public.' This is the view of Maureen Kennelly , who left her role as director of the Arts Council this month, and is speaking about the organisation's disastrous IT project, which ended with a multimillion-euro write-off and no software system to show for it. The idea was to bring together five existing systems, including those dealing with grants. The original budget for the project was €2.97 million, for delivery in 2021. That rose to €6.5 million by the time the plug was pulled, in June 2024. The net loss was €5.3 million. The Department of Culture, which oversees the council, has acknowledged its mistakes since details of the fiasco emerged in February, but the repercussions are being felt mainly at the council, where Kennelly has been jettisoned after a single term. Patrick O'Donovan , who took over as Minister for Culture from Catherine Martin in January, vetoed a unanimous board decision to renew Kennelly's contract. READ MORE Entrance: Patrick O'Donovan became Minister for Culture in January. Photograph: Sam Boal/Collins 'From the outset of all this, in early February, the Minister's reaction to the write-off of spending on the IT system set the tone for wider media commentary and political response,' Kennelly says. 'The board of the Arts Council was fully satisfied with my role in the project and made the recommendation to the Minister to renew me for a further five-year term. 'They were confident that the Niamh Brennan review' – of the council's governance and culture, which O'Donovan commissioned in February and is expected this autumn – 'would accurately describe the development of the project and my role in it, trying to rescue it. It is important for me to say that I inherited this project. The project had started well before my time, and it was conceived and initiated on a very shaky foundation. 'I led the bid to rescue it to the point where it was ultimately decided by the board, in conjunction with me, to stop the project in favour of an option which would be cheaper in the long run' – an off-the-shelf rather than custom system. 'Unfortunately, the Minister decided not to wait for the outcome of the Niamh Brennan review. He judged me before those findings are available and against the clear advice of the Arts Council board. His actions have served to discredit the Arts Council and, in particular, my reputation. It is clear to me that he saw the opportunity for a scalp and I was a very easy target.' The IT project had 'troubled origins', she says, because 'the senior expertise simply was never there to deliver it, and the oversight from the department and the OGCIO' – Office of the Government Chief Information Officer – 'was never in place'. 'This was one outlying project which failed, there's no doubt. But it absolutely should not overshadow all the work the Arts Council does. And the Arts Council is by no means alone in enduring difficulties with such a project.' Kennelly chose to remain at the organisation until the conclusion of two Oireachtas committee hearings into the debacle – 'I thought it was very important for the Arts Council to be accountable' – and left two days later, on Friday, June 13th. One of the hearings was of the joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport, where the Sinn Féin TD Joanna Byrne described Kennelly as having been 'thrown under the bus by the Minister'. THE BACKGROUND In 2018-19, with the council's core computer system on its last legs, the organisation's previous director initiated a huge 'business transformation project' with the approval of the Department of Culture. The IT project was complex, seeking to merge grant-management and financial systems, among others. As Ireland's national Government agency for funding, developing and promoting the arts, it has a large brief and hundreds of clients, from big organisations to individual artists. It was clear at the committee hearings that neither the council nor the department had the senior IT wherewithal to adequately manage or assess this, and relied on external contractors and project managers, where frequent staff changes added to the problem. The project ran behind from early on; specifications were altered after the business case was made. Issues and delays over the system's analysis, design and development had knock-on effects for timelines and budget. Covid happened. As the IT project progressed, Kennelly sought departmental approval several times to hire a senior in-house information-technology specialist. The department said it could not approve recruiting at the proposed level of Civil Service principal officer (current salary range: €105,000-€130,000). Two senior IT professionals were eventually hired in April-May 2024, at the assistant-principal-higher grade (€88,500-€110,500). 'Unfortunately it came too late in the day. We had halted the project at that stage,' Kennelly says. With hindsight it would doubtless have been better to stop sooner. 'They were torturous decisions along the way,' Kennelly says. 'Because your desire is to protect the initial investment. The last thing you want is to be writing off significant funds. I know from my own very deep past in the arts sector how precious those monies are.' Blinder: Maureen Kennelly with Catherine Martin in 2022, when the TD was minister for culture. Photograph: Maxwell's She was appointed at the height of the pandemic, a period when the arts sector was battling for survival. The council, which Kennelly led with its chairman, Kevin Rafter, and the department, led by Catherine Martin, as minister, and Katherine Licken, its secretary general at the time, are regarded as having played a blinder, securing extra funding to keep the arts afloat through lockdown. Last year the council's programmes, partnerships and grant aid supported 588 organisations and 2,000 individuals, 140 festivals, 318 schools and 31 local authorities. After years of underfunding, the council's annual budget increased by 75 per cent between 2020 and 2024, to €140 million, effectively holding on to Covid-response increases. Its remit expanded, grant applications rose from 3,000 to 8,666, and the council funded more individuals and organisations. All that takes more work; the department says that its approved staffing level for the council increased from 47 in 2018 to 146 in 2024. Ticking away in the background was this complex, ballooning IT project. It has all been detailed in the report of the department's internal examination , in media reports and at the Oireachtas hearings: the Public Accounts Committee on May 29th and Culture Committee on June 11th. And in parallel with Brennan's report, the department is reviewing its own governance and oversight. As the project's expected delivery approached – a year late, in September 2022 – multiple bugs were discovered. This was substandard work, Kennelly told the Public Accounts Committee. 'The really serious nature of the situation was clear to me,' she says. The council went into dispute with contractors, and Kennelly restructured the project, changing internal personnel and stopping payments to contractors. 'With hindsight, I'm not sure any other CEO would have done any differently, to be honest.' She continued to 'really earnestly' appeal for sanction for a senior IT person. THE ACCOUNTING Before the Oireachtas committees, Kennelly and Feargal Ó Coigligh , Licken's successor as secretary general, sought to be 'completely transparent in relation to our failings'. A key factor that emerged at the Culture Committee is that although the council kept the department informed, the problems that developed appear not to have been escalated within the department, up to the secretary general or the minister, until late June 2024. 'It was surprising to me that it wasn't being conveyed upwards,' Kennelly says. 'We weren't keeping a single thing hidden from the department.' Asked in committee how much correspondence she had with the department about the project, she estimated 'about 60 pieces of written communication' – a number Ó Coigligh initially questioned at the Culture Committee but then accepted. At committee, he also acknowledged departmental failure. 'We should have stepped in much earlier when it became clear this project had run into serious difficulty.' Twenty-one external expert contractors have been paid; 75 per cent of the costs relate to four companies. The council has started legal proceedings against two of them (Codec, one of the contractors involved, strongly rejects claims its work was substandard) and is in pre-action with two others. The legal action has cost €60,000 so far, but the department has now frozen spending, pending recently sought feedback from the Attorney General's office. 'I hope the Minister's decision to pause spending on it will not squander a good opportunity to recover monies on behalf of the public,' Kennelly says. 'It wasn't, 'Let's just lash loads of money at the lawyers and get this fixed.' It was being constructed extremely carefully.' 'Furious': Patrick O'Donovan and Simon Harris. Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA Wire O'Donovan was 'desperately angry' when he was told about the €5.3 million write-off, and immediately took it to the Cabinet; there was, perhaps, the slight air of a new sheriff wanting to clean up Dodge. Coming on foot of other sagas involving wasted public money, fury erupted . Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers decried 'a massive waste of money'. Tánaiste Simon Harris was 'furious'. (Then, this month, O'Donovan was admonished for bringing 'substantial expenditure' issues, including the Arts Council, to Cabinet 'under the arm', without telling colleagues in advance.) When the Minister declined to renew Kennelly's contract, the council instead proposed deferring a decision until after Brennan's report. The department's only offer was a 'final contract' of up to nine months or 'until a new director is appointed, whichever is sooner'. It was 'highly conditioned', Kennelly says. 'I think any self-respecting senior executive would have thought twice about it.' She declined. 'It's just disappointing that my only encounter with the Minister was about this, and that he appears to have rushed to such hasty judgment on this outlying project when there are so many other fantastic things being delivered by the Arts Council,' Kennelly says. THE MEDIA COVERAGE The Minister told the Sunday Independent last weekend, 'I made the decision that I think is in the best interest of the Arts Council and the taxpayer.' Kennelly is 'flabbergasted by this. He made the decision against the clear advice of the Arts Council, and I would like him to explain how this decision meets the best interest of the taxpayer and the Arts Council. 'I find his statement deeply insulting and damaging to my reputation. I hope that he'll have an opportunity to explain why he made that statement at the joint Oireachtas committee' when it convenes on July 2nd. She says the council was dismayed by details in an Irish Times report in April based on information released following a Freedom of Information request. It referred to a meeting that the new Minister called with Kennelly and Maura McGrath – Rafter's successor as chair – two months earlier. O'Donovan asked if they or their predecessors had discussed the business transformation project with the previous minister or secretary general, 'to which both replied 'No'', according to minutes the department supplied. But Kennelly's own note of her full reply is, 'No, but I kept the principal officer, my designated line of contact, informed right throughout the project.' 'I was flabbergasted,' Kennelly says. 'It was an extremely selective record of the meeting. The department should never have sent minutes to The Irish Times without checking them with us first. It was an extremely unfair reflection of the whole situation.' She adds, 'It appears they may have been put out there to justify the Minister's actions.' Culture Committee: Feargal Ó Coigligh answers questions on June 11th. Photograph: Oireachtas TV Several members of the Culture Committee, including Malcolm Byrne of Fianna Fáil, repeatedly asked the secretary general whether he advised the Minister about Kennelly's contract. Ó Coigligh repeated, several times, that it was a ministerial decision, effectively refusing to answer the question. THE LESSONS 'It's a huge regret of mine' that the IT project wasn't delivered, Kennelly says, 'and that the circumstances of my contract mean I'm not there to see a new system through. I hope and I trust good decisions will be made in the future.' The lessons to be learned include ensuring appropriate internal expertise is in place, alongside departmental and OGCIO oversight. 'The Arts Council is set up to develop the arts and to support artists and organisations. It's not set up as an IT specialist ... The risks of the project weren't properly assessed from the start.' If they had been, someone would perhaps have said, 'This is a project that's doomed to fail ... You were absolutely not set up to take this on.' At the Culture Committee hearing Joanna Byrne said, 'I am of the view that there was full transparency at every stage, from 2021 right up to 2024, on the part of the Arts Council. Yet it is okay for the department to state that it failed but that nobody within it is to blame ... Thousands of artists in this country are not getting the service they desire and deserve because of the failures in the department. I do not think it cuts the mustard to state that the department failed but that nobody was held accountable.' Kennelly says now, 'It seems probable to me that someone was briefing against the Arts Council and against me, and I find that abhorrent.' Is she bitter about all that has happened? 'No. I'm disappointed. It's been a very tumultuous time. I loved the role, and have huge regard for the people in the Arts Council, and equally huge regard for people in the sector. The Arts Council's an enormously important part of Irish life. It has to be protected, and funding for the arts has to be protected. That's absolutely critical.'
