South Wales Evening Post - 17 April 2007
Swansea Council's former chief executive has dismissed claims that the council mishandled its £83 million IT programme.
The council's external auditors has delivered a damning report into how the council's eGovernment programme was handled.
The report says not enough was done to check figures and councillors were not warned of officers concerns about the project.
However, Tim Thorogood, who left the council just days before the deal was signed, has now said everything possible was done to make sure the scheme was a success.
He said: "The deal that was considered by councillors had an awful lot of hard work and it had been looked at in the greatest of detail."
The report goes on to say alternatives were not looked at, and now millions of pounds of savings are being missed out on.
Mr Thorogood, who was one of the key figures behind the scheme, believes councillors were well aware of all concerns. He said: "The council obtained substantial assistance from a range of specialist advisers and such advice was not always taken, but was provided directly to councillors.
"If, subsequently people view there to be weaknesses in the programme - and any programme has learning points - then there is little more the council could have reasonably done at the time the programme was agreed."
Mr Thorogood, who left Swansea Council under a cloud following a planning row at his Rhossili home, said that all major public sector technology projects were likely to go through problems.
However, despite the fact the council's eGovernment programme has serious problems Mr Thorogood believes it has been handled well. There is a massive shortfall in projected savings from the project, a number of key elements are not on-line more than 12 months after the deal was signed and the much-hyped call centre has been dropped altogether.
Mr Thorogood said: "It is difficult for me to comment on this given that it is a long time ago since I held my position at Swansea Council and it is also particularly difficult to be objective about what's happened since my departure.
"Experience from both local and central government technology-led programmes is that substantial problems in delivery are common, and it is to the credit of Swansea that such major delivery problems have in fact been avoided, albeit there are concerns about affordability and savings achievements.
"It is also clear that there are a large number of areas where the Swansea approach displays great strength and shows how the learning from previous programmes elsewhere had been drawn upon."
Swansea Council's Labour group leader David Phillips, a former auditor, said: "This is one of the most damning reports into public procurement I have seen.
"The lack of seriousness that appears to have been applied to this project is scandalous. Serious questions need to be asked - not about who is to blame, but who is going to take responsibility."
