South Wales Evening Post - 31 July 2008
IT firm CapGemini has denied giving Swansea Council an £8 million bill.
Yesterday the Post reported that the council's payroll system, which was due to be included in the controversial eGovernment project, had been terminated and CapGemini wanted around £8 million for work already carried out on the project.
A spokesman for the firm said no bill has been submitted. A confidential council report seen by the Post, however, gives a cost breakdown of the work carried out by CapGemini on the failed payroll system. It totals £8 million.
The new system was first due to be introduced in October 2006 at a cost of £819,000.However, now the council's cabinet has voted to terminate the contract.
A spokesman for the IT company said: "CapGemini has not made a submission for £8 million. There are commercial negotiations taking place and we respect the commercial confidentiality of those."
Swansea Council has said the bill it pays for the failed payroll system will be "significantly smaller" than £8 million.
Councillor Mary Jones, Swansea Cabinet Member for Business Improvement and Efficiency said the decision taken by the council's cabinet to walk away from the project will in fact reduce the figure.
In a statement councillor Jones said: "The report states that if the council continued on this path then it could face such a bill in the future. The cabinet's decision to change direction and seek a negotiated withdrawal from that part of the contract instead will prevent local taxpayers having to meet such a bill and indications are that the final settlement figure will be substantially less than has been quoted.
"There are difficult questions to be answered by all parties. However, what is clear is that the final cost of this failure to match up data on two very different computer systems will be significantly smaller than the sum the Evening Post reported, and will reflect the actual work done."
Council leader Councillor Chris Holley said: "Once again we see articles in the paper which are being supported by the Labour Party that do not give a clear picture of the facts these will become clear once the matter has been resolved.
"We will be settling with a lower figure."
Conservative leader Rene Kinzett said: "I chaired the council inquiry into this when we were told over an 18-month period that everything was fine. We were mislead. Elected councillors have been mislead every step along the way."
Swansea Council was due to meet this afternoon to discuss the issue.
Reader comments
More spin and covering up from the Councillors Mary Jones and Chris Holley alias the two muppets. Its time the TRUTH was outed on this IT system. As we wont ever get the truth out of these Lib Dems let us have a public inquiry.
gwynfor, Swansea
"A confidential council report seen by the Post, however, gives a cost breakdown of the work carried out by CapGemini on the failed payroll system. It totals £8 million." The report does not say that at all. You need to re-read it.
Peter Black, Swansea
