Only in Westminster

The Commons public accounts select committee has published a damning report on the state of the Government's IT projects stating that the government is losing its grip on them. Rather worryingly, one in five has been rated "mission critical and high-risk" computer schemes, yet senior officials had not even met the minister responsible. It also criticised the many projects that had gone billions of pounds over budget and were many years behind schedule.

Incredibly, the government spends £14bn a year on these IT projects. That is say, £14bn of tax payers’ money is frittered away each year on these catastrophes. No doubt one of the major factors why the government is producing failed IT project after failed IT project might have something to do with the finding that 70 per cent of senior officials were concerned about the lack of "programme and project management skills" within their departments. What the report fails to identify is that most of the projects simply aren't needed and are a complete waste of money - even if they were, by some sort of fluke, successful. How they government gets away with tipping £14bn a year on failed projects, I have no idea how - but it would not happen in any other sphere of life, only in Westminster.