UK Inquiry Tracker

Managing and replacing the Aspire contract: progress review inquiry

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry

Opened: 28 Apr 2016 Closed: 4 Jan 2018 Parliament page

HMRC's Aspire contract with Capgemini delivers technology services and projects which are fundamental to HMRC's business. The contract accounted for 84% of HMRC's ICT spend and cost over £8 billion between 2004 and 2014, about twice the cost anticipated when HMRC procured the contract, which was extended for a further … Read more HMRC's Aspire contract with Capgemini delivers technology services and projects which are fundamental to HMRC's business. The contract accounted for 84% of HMRC's ICT spend and cost over £8 billion between 2004 and 2014, about twice the cost anticipated when HMRC procured the contract, which was extended for a further three years. This makes it the government’s largest technology contract. The Aspire contract is a 'prime supplier' approach which is no longer Government policy for buying technology. It will be replaced in 2017 to reflect the new model involving many smaller contracts of shorter duration to increase competition and value for money. Our Public Accounts Committee inquiry in 2015 considered the value achieved through HMRC's contract with CapGemini and the impact of moving to shorter duration and lower value ICT contracts which involves greater use of SME suppliers. The Committee of Public Accounts considered that HMRC faced an enormous challenge in moving to a new contracting model by 2017 and appeared overly complacent given the scale of the transformation required. Although HMRC decided to move in principle to a new contracting model it still did not have a detailed business case for the change. At the time, HMRC hoped to publish the business case in Spring, which left two years to engage the market, recruit the skills, and procure and manage the transition of the services it would need before the existing contract expired in 2017. The Department was confident it could meet the 2017 deadline although some of the key milestones may have shifted. The Department expected the new arrangements would reduce their running costs by 25%. However, HMRC, at the time, still could not estimate the cost of this change, in terms of moving staff, equipment and office space; it could not even provide the Committee with a range. Back in 2015, the Cabinet Office accepted that it would be better to delay the project and negotiate an extension to the expensive Aspire contract than risk a failure in tax collection. Cabinet Office accepted the need for a contingency plan, but HMRC appeared not to do so. Show less

1 Oral session

1 Event

Activity timeline 2 events

13 Jun
2016

Oral evidence

Oral evidence session

13 Jun
2016

Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Boothroyd Room, Portcullis House

Committee event

Oral evidence sessions 1 session

13 Jun 2016

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