DWP drops Fujitsu from desktop support

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has ripped up its multi-million pound IT desktop support contract with Fujitsu before the company even started work, reports The Register . It terminated the contract at the end of last week and asked the outgoing supplier HP to continue the work in the short term. The original deal was set up by the DWP and Buying solutions and valued at £4.5bn for desktop solutions across departments. When HP lost the contract it was worth less than 15% of that amount. A spokeswoman for the DWP said: "The contract was terminated on the 11th; HP is covering in the short term." She was unable to say what would happen next and whether the contract would go out to tender. A statement from Fujitsu said: "Fujitsu can confirm that it has received notification from the DWP that they wish to bring the desktop contract, awarded in February 2010, to an end. We are not able to provide any further comment at this stage." HP refused to comment. Sources within the department said Fujitsu had missed three start dates to begin the work. Fujitsu had been scheduled to start work on 31 August 2010. Staff who had been moved from HP to Fujitsu are now in limbo, but might eventually be expected to move back to their original employer. The DWP said that this was an issue for the companies concerned, not the department. It was also unable to say whether or not the contract would go out to tender again. This article is published by Guardian Professional. For updates on public sector IT, join the Government Computing Network here.