Itnet And Hackney Council

EDM number 560 in 2000-01, proposed by Brian Sedgemore on 06/04/2001.

That this House congratulates Hackney Council for sacking ITnet which it had hired to deal with housing benefit claims and to collect council tax; is shocked by the fact that, from the moment ITnet heard that its contract was at an end, it broke every promise that it made about a smooth handover and instead behaved in a rapacious fashion such as had rarely been seen by a firm working in the public sector; is concerned that ITnet consistently failed to be honest about their improvements or lack of them, their ability to manage problems and the level of resources they used; is aware that ITnet did not understand the verification framework and as a result cost the council millions of pounds as a result of non-compliance; is aghast that ITnet sought to blackmail the council to the tune of ú402,000 when the contract was withdrawn; notes that ITnet demanded ú4 million from the council for IT equipment when the contract was terminated although the open market value of the equipment was only 5 per cent. of demand; regrets that the managing director of ITnet had a personal stake in the company and was always more concerned with profits than providing a service; and calls on ITnet to pay, without the need for recourse to legal action, ú20 million in compensation to local residents for ruining their lives.

This motion has been signed by a total of 9 MPs.