Authorities commits £483m to Submit Workplace for IT transformation

The Submit Workplace will obtain almost half a billion kilos of taxpayer cash over the subsequent two years to help its expertise transformation because it ends its relationship with Fujitsu.

The UK authorities has introduced it’ll present £483m in funding in the direction of the state-owned organisation’s undertaking to switch Fujitsu’s Horizon system and remodel in-branch expertise. That is along with funds beforehand supplied for the undertaking, together with aborted makes an attempt to switch Horizon.

Taxpayers are on the hook for probably billions of kilos in Submit Workplace scandal prices as a result of Fujitsu has but contribute to addressing the fallout from the scandal it performed a job in inflicting.

“To help the transformation of the Submit Workplace into a contemporary, environment friendly enterprise, the federal government can be making a major funding of £483m over the subsequent two years,” stated the Division for Enterprise and Commerce (DBT).  

It stated it’ll fund new in-branch expertise, resembling self-service gadgets, however the majority will go in the direction of changing the Horizon system. “[It] may also allow a significant expertise transformation programme that may transition operations away from Fujitsu and finally help with the lengthy overdue substitute of the Horizon system,” stated the DBT.

The Submit Workplace scandal was first uncovered by Pc Weekly in 2009, when it revealed the tales of seven subpostmasters and the issues they suffered as a consequence of Horizon accounting software program, which led to probably the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British historical past (see under timeline of Pc Weekly articles concerning the scandal since 2009).

Earlier this month, Pc Weekly revealed detailed plans for the Horizon substitute undertaking, in an interview with Submit Workplace IT boss Paul Anastassi.

The funding over the subsequent two years will cowl the price of the 2 contracts tendered by the Submit Workplace as a part of the Horizon substitute programme.

The contracts are priced at a complete of £492m within the authorities tender. This contains Lot 1, which can see a provider take over the present Horizon providers in a £323m deal, and Lot 2, which seeks a provider to offer an off-the-shelf digital level of sale (EPOS) system, by means of a £169m contract. 

Anastassi instructed Pc Weekly that the 2 offers can be signed by this summer season, and its relationship with Fujitsu can be over by the center of 2027.

He stated cash can be saved in the long term, however couldn’t give a last undertaking price as a result of the perfect and last gives from suppliers received’t be identified till later this 12 months. “All I can inform you for the time being is, based mostly on the questions we’ve been requested, it’s a substantial price saving over what we at the moment pay for Fujitsu,” he instructed Pc Weekly.

However this isn’t the primary time the Submit Workplace has tried to finish its reliance on the Horizon system, and big sums have beforehand been wasted attempting to take action.

In 2015, the Submit Workplace started a undertaking to switch Fujitsu and Horizon with IBM and its expertise, however when issues acquired complicated, Submit Workplace administrators went crawling again to Fujitsu.

Then, after Horizon was proved within the Excessive Courtroom to be at fault for the account shortfalls that subpostmasters have been blamed and punished for, the Submit Workplace recognised that it needed to change the system. This culminated within the New Department IT (NBIT) undertaking. This, too, bumped into bother, and was ultimately axed. That was earlier than Anastassi’s time, and earlier than that of its new high group of executives.

Submit Workplace minister Blair McDougall additionally introduced that the federal government will preserve the minimal department requirement of 11,500 Submit Workplace branches.

Submit Workplace CEO Neil Brocklehurst stated: “The federal government’s funding can also be a vote of confidence within the Submit Workplace’s transformation. It means we will proceed to improve branches and their expertise to offer the fashionable and environment friendly retail expertise which our clients count on from their native put up workplace. 

Moreover, the federal government stated it’ll present simply over £37m to assist the Submit Workplace provide monetary redress to victims of the scandal.