South Wales Evening Post - 15 January 2009
The bill for a failed IT system at Swansea Council has been settled — with the authority shelling out more than £1 million.
Last year, the Post revealed a confidential council agenda showed work done by IT firm CapGemini on the council's failed payroll system could cost £8 million, although council leaders said the final bill would be negotiated down.
Council leader Chris Holley confirmed the deal with CapGemini was settled late last year for just over £1 million.
Councillor Holley said: "What we have done is settle all our past claims with CapGemini.
"Obviously, there will be things ongoing — it is a contract.
"It would have been nice to have been even less. There was claim and counter-claim.
"I'm not happy to say that it is a victory because it has still cost us an amount of money.
"We have brought in a system to try and modernise the council, it was always going to cost money.
"We purchased five projects from them and four are working.
"We will always have discussions about whether they are reaching the standard. If they don't then we won't pay them."
Labour councillor Mike Hedges said Swansea Council had been forced to spend a huge amount of money on a failed system.
He said: "The council has spent £1 million on a system that didn't work."
Councillor Hedges was speaking ahead of last night's full council meeting, when councillors were due to debate funding for post-16 student travel.
He said: "The council has been throwing money at big companies, such as the Duke of Beaufort (who received £280,000 for granting permission for a bridge over the Tawe) and CapGemini, and getting what appears to be nothing in return.
"We are taking away from school transport for children aged 16 to 18. People have got their priorities absolutely wrong."
The issue sparked a controversial mass walkout by opposition politicians in July following a decision to debate Swansea Council's controversial eGovernment scheme in private.
During the July council meeting debating the deal with CapGemini, after a motion for the public to be allowed to stay for the debate was defeated, every Labour and Conservative member left the meeting in protest.
Councillor Holley said it was important that the council kept its position out of the public domain.
He said: "We wanted to maintain our negotiating position.
"We were confident it would be considerably less (than £8million) and if they had stayed in the meeting they would have heard why."
