Tories would take an axe to Labour IT policy

I, for one..

welcome our new, blue tie wearing, overlords!

Mandatory title

"where a supplier recklessly contracted to provide a service that was unlawful – perhaps in terms of data protection principles - penalty clauses may be resisted."

It's a fair point; you can't have a valid contract to do an unlawful thing.

Stating the obvious

"It may sound obvious, but best consultancy practice nowadays recognises that sometimes the most effective ideas come not from senior management, but from those working on the shop floor."

"sometimes"!!

How about - "usually"?

And how long has it taken management consultants to realise that the people who do a job day to day are the ones most aware of the problems, issues and what could be done to resolve them? Something the Japanese have been aware of for decades.

Suddenly I see

12 years out of Government and suddenly we can see how to make the world a happy smiley place again.

We won't waste money, we will make everything right again.

Easier said than done.

I'm Voting for the Lib Dems. Their biggest expense was a packet of Chocolate Hobnobs - Tory expenses? Where would you start to talk about the bending of the rules and once in power these rules can be bend even more.

What nicomach said, only more so

"where a supplier recklessly contracted to provide a service that was unlawful ... penalty clauses may be resistedl"

Fuck "resisted", unlawful activities can not constitute valid consideration in a contract, and no contract including them is considered to be valid. Such a contract would be unenforceable in it's entirety. You can write whatever clause you like, and it means zip.

It may take court action to prove this is so on a contract by contract basis, but most of the costs of that would ultimately be borne by the party attempting to enforce such a contract when they get their sorry asses laughed out of court.

In theory.

"giving people ownership of the data"

Perhaps they could start with usage of the RM postcode database.

Must have paid off the old contracts

I'm sure the NHS IT fiasco has been going on a lot longer than since we got T.B. as Glorious Leader and Saviour of Mankind.

All those teams of consultants and IT firms that did bugger all work and cost us millions must have finally been paid off - along with their termination payments and guaranteed bonuses and grants.

The Tory model is to have everything outsourced (once we've paid for it to be developed) and then rent it all back again, either from their mates or from some foriegn company.

Charlie Brown

Reading the story reminded me of how the adults on Charlie Brown sounded.....wahhh wa, wahhaaa, whaaaa waa...then end.

Why not bill the cabinet for the colossal waste?

If the current administration signed contracts that were unreasonably expensive and wasteful, and in addition had the sort of lock-in clauses described, is there any way that they can be individually and personally surcharged - just as local councillors who wasted money (by selling houses cheap to their mates, for example) have been?

/cry with happyness

<sob> Im so...<sob> happy <sniff> these are tears <hankey> or joy <sniff>

Then again, these are pre manifesto promises from politicians, politicians!, so take the eventual implementation with a big ben sized pinch of salt.

But I'm cautiously optimistic that we will see a move from the monolithic contracts that are in place and so often fail so badly where a more modular approach to projects would serve better.

data sharing should happen not "because it can"...

... but only where it is wholly necessary.

FIne words, but will they keep to them? When "necessary" becomes "necessary to stop terrorism or crime or benefit fraud or uninsured drivers..." they'll be no better than the current idiots.

Hold on now

Are you saying Labour had an IT policy? I thought it was simply an Easter egg hunt on Network Rail with laptops instead of eggs?

Bingo!

Those quotes contain enough material for a great game of "Wank Words Bingo"

The key to this..

Is the requisite adherence to open standards..

The Tories are generally known for not really caring too much about the social niceties, but they do like the business and commercial sectors to grow in a proper fashion (i.e. competition, and letting the businessmen, not necessarily the MBAs, prosper).

When you open up the field, a lot of small business grows. Small business is local in the main in various areas of the country. You can't predict where it'll start up, but when it gets the job done, it's usually versatile, and gives good bang for the bucks.

Also, for the NHS IT project, there are some damnably good skills in house that are just not allowed to touch anywhere near the main project system, and are having to introduce workarounds to keep local systems running. All of which costs extra money.

What I expect from the tories is saying "Here's the world. Make your mark. Don't expect me to hold your hand when it hurts though". Rather than NuLab's "Here's the world. I'll hold your hand and keep you safe from everything. And I'll never let go of your hand, so you go where I want you to. Because it's safe, really. We know what's best.".

@John211

RM postcode area? I know the place is a shithole, but why single one shithole out? There's plenty to choose from!

Re: Why not bill the cabinet for the colossal waste?

Two points to note here.

Pro. No UK Government can tie the hands of the next government. So the new Government can simply rule the contracts unlawful.

Against. Do you really think any Government would sue the previous Cabinet when they know that at some point down the line they will be the previous Cabinet.