Cabinet Office Minister, Ian McCartney, claimed that the Government has launched 'one of the most comprehensive programmes ever to address IT project failure', as he responded to the Public Accounts Committee critical report 'Improving the Delivery of Government IT Projects' which was published in January.

Mr McCartney, who heads the study of major IT projects, said the recommendations are the first of a series to ensure best practice is implemented across Government. They follow a range of measure announced earlier this year aimed at 'driving up performance.

The Government is developing further measures which will address issues such as skills, focusing on business needs, developing mechanisms to ensure projects are run on a manageable scale and ensuring strong contingency plans are in place from the start.

The Government response accepts the findings of the PAC report, which was critical of some of the major IT projects, and sets out actions that the Government is taking to improve its handling such projects.

Mr McCartney said: "This positive response shows how serious we are about driving up performance in our IT projects. Many of the projects referred to by the PAC go back many years. This Government is determined not to
tolerate failure or to repeat the mistakes of the past."

On 21 February Mr McCartney announced the first recommendations from the Government's study. These are:

* Ministers: Ministers have to take a strong role in overseeing and scrutinising major IT projects. This Government has introduced events to build ministers' awareness about their roles. IT projects will be a top priority.

* Supplier Planning: It is vital that suppliers fully understand the requirements for a new system, and only promise what is realistic. They will now be required to produce detailed plans, to demonstrate to the Government how they will deliver, that will be monitored as projects go ahead. These will be set alongside the business plans that the Government has to make.

* Peer Review: All high risk projects will be reviewed as they are developed. Departments will have to work with a team of independent experienced project managers to make sure that their projects are safe to go ahead.

* Sharing Experience: The Government will establish a new system for sharing knowledge about IT projects across the Government, so everyone has the benefit of the best practice available. They believe that it is essential that lessons are learnt from projects as they proceed, sharing good ways of working and ensuring that different parts of Government co-operate as closely as possible.

* Managing suppliers: The Government is setting up the new Office of Government Commerce to make sure suppliers are managed in a strategic way across the public sector. IT suppliers will be the first priority for this work.

Mr McCartney said: "The early recommendations will make a real difference, but they are only a start in addressing the findings of the PAC. The study team's work goes beyond the issues raised in PAC report, and will ensure that the pillars that support successful projects are in place from
the start in future. I look forward to continuing to work towards this goal with the Committee, as well as other partners across Government and industry."