EDS system delays child support reforms

The government has admitted that the long-awaited child support reforms will be delayed because the IT system designed to process claims will not be completed by the original April deadline.

The system, build by IT outsourcer EDS for the Department of Work and Pensions, has been under construction since July 1999, but still needs further testing.

Legislative reforms, aimed at improving practices at the Child Support Agency (CSA), were due to be introduced this April, but have been postponed until the new IT system is ready.

However, neither the Department of Work and Pensions nor EDS could provide a new deadline for completion.

Alistair Darling, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, told MPs this week that the department had learned from mistakes made when setting up the CSA in 1993, and that the new technology was essential and reforms could not be implemented without it.

"Fundamental to the delivery of these reforms is getting the IT right... I want to see the new system in place as soon as possible. But we will only proceed when I am satisfied that the new IT system is working to the standards we expect."

Darling said the volume of payments - 13 million every year - to be processed by the system, and integration with legacy systems in the department that were close to twenty years old, had caused some hitches.

He admitted that the delay would hike up project costs, but did not specify how much.

In a statement today EDS said the project had been 'large' and 'complex', but added it was close to completion.