Government to review Atos following report’s criticism

The government has declared that all of its major contracts with outsourcing company Atos will be reviewed after a damning report was published by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) claiming its GP data extraction system (GPES) was ’flawed’.

The Cabinet Office has said it will annually review all contracts worth over £10 million. The report claimed that ‘Atos ’took advantage of a weak client’ when charging the Department of Health for the GPES while ’knowing full well that the whole system had not been properly tested’.

The PAC report recommended: “The Cabinet Office should undertake a full review of Atos’ relationships as a supplier to the Crown. We expect the Cabinet Office to note carefully this example of sharp practice when determining what obligations a duty of care on contractors should entail and what sanctions would apply when performance falls short.”

A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “In line with the PAC’s recommendation the Cabinet Office is undertaking a review of all current Atos contracts with central government with an annual spend over £10 million.”

A spokesman from Atos responded by saying: “We look forward to working with the Cabinet Office with whom we have a transparent and open relationship and we look forward to maintaining our green rating for delivery across Whitehall.”

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This story was first published in digitalhealth.net

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