MPs condemn MoD over pay errors

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The Ministry of Defence has been criticised over a payroll computer system which led to thousands of personnel receiving the wrong pay.

The Commons Defence Committee said there were "basic and fundamental" errors in the design of the system which wrongly paid out almost £29m.

Streamlining army, navy and RAF pay into a single system had been intended to save an estimated £100m a year.

The MoD said there had been problems but the situation was now improving.

The MPs' committee said "uncertainties" over the level of error meant the MoD was now having difficulty recovering money paid in error.

The problems were so severe that the National Audit Office was unable to determine the level of error, forcing it to qualify the MoD's accounts.

Incorrect data

Personal data held by the £245m Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) programme was incorrect for up to one in 10 military staff, the MPs' report said.

Fewer than a third - 31% - of service personnel expressed satisfaction with the system at one point, although the MoD said that figure had since risen to 45%.

JPA was supplied by the Texan computer giant EDS, which has been involved in a number of problematic government IT projects including the Child Support Agency system.

"It is difficult to exaggerate the magnitude of the failure of the Joint Personnel Administration programme," the committee said.

These failings are significant because they impact upon several areas critical to satisfaction with life in the services James Arbuthnot MPCommittee chairman

"At a time when the department is seeking, in many cases successfully, to deal with areas of dissatisfaction in service personnel life, this failure, which affects pay, entitlements and service records, is unacceptable.

"It is, in our view, truly reprehensible that such mistakes were allowed to be made by those charged with oversight of the JPA programme."

The committee said the MoD saw the JDA development primarily as a human resources project and failed to put sufficient emphasis on the need for financial reporting.

"We consider this to be a basic and fundamental error which is unacceptable on a project of this scale," it said.

The committee said the problem may have been exacerbated by the cutting of 300 human resources posts, when the difficulties with JPA meant there was an increased need for experienced staff.

Committee chairman, James Arbuthnot MP, said: "These failings are significant because they impact upon several areas critical to satisfaction with life in the services.

"It is, in our view, deeply regrettable that such mistakes were allowed to be made by those charged with oversight of the JPA programme."

The MoD admitted there had been difficulties during the first year of JPA, but said the situation was now improving.

"Over the last 12 months, significant improvements have been made to the system and further training has been given to service personnel," a spokesman said.

"We apologise for the inconvenience caused by any incorrect payments. We have ensured that any repayments were made in a way and at a level that minimised impact upon [personnel]."