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Department of Finance pays £10m for '£1m contract' Department of Finance pays £10m for '£1m contract'
(about 2 hours later)
The Department of Finance paid IT consultants 10 times more than the original cost for a project, it has emerged. The Department of Finance ended up paying IT consultants 10 times the initial cost for a one-off project, it has emerged.
In its latest report NIAO found that there were cost over-runs in 40% of the consultants contracts it examined. In its latest href="http://www.niauditoffice.gov.uk/pubs/2011/externalconsultants/8942%20Consultants%20final.pdf" title="audit office report" >report the NI Audit Office found there were cost over-runs in 40% of the consultants contracts it examined.
In one case, the department of finance paid nearly £10m for an IT system that was supposed to cost just under £1m. It also found that out of 86 contracts it examined, 16 had not been competitively tendered.
NIAO also found that out of 86 contracts it examined, 16 had not been competitively tendered. This was in breach of civil services rules and guidance for good practice.
The 16 contracts were in breach of the civil services rules and guidance for good practice. In one case, the Department of Finance, which is tasked with reducing waste, paid nearly £10m for an IT system that was supposed to cost just under £1m.
In its report in 2008, the Audit Office reported that the use of external consultants had doubled over a five year period. In 2008, the Audit Office reported that the use of external consultants had doubled over a five year period.
The audit office said the figure peaked at £42m in the financial year 2006/7 but fell to nearly £20m in 2009/10. The amount spent on consultants peaked at £42m in the financial year 2006/7 but fell to nearly £20m in 2009/10.
The Audit Office has recommended that the public service should make business cases for future use of external consultants