Vincent Cable
From Nhs It Info
(Twickenham, Liberal Democrat)
House of Commons debate (14 Jul 2004)
"From the documents that I have read it appears that one of the key arguments is that we will see a big leap forward in information technology. However, the Government's record in that area is abysmal. The National Audit Office suggested in a report a couple of years ago that only a third of Government IT projects succeed. We all remember the Passport Office story, and the courts and the Post Office have suffered fiascos in that area. To their credit, the Government have introduced a much improved procedure, including the gateways, and the level of error has been reduced. However, many of the projects are still highly doubtful. People close to the industry, such as Computer Weekly, are concerned that the IT programme will unravel badly with disastrous consequences, especially for the NHS."
