Capita shares ride out damning report

Shares in outsourcing company Capita eased into the green this morning after a Parliamentary report said the government should share the blame for the Individual Learning Account (ILA) fiasco.

The report, issued yesterday by Parliament's Education and Skills Select Committee stated: "The culpability of Capita was matched by that of the department [for Education], in particular for not demanding more robust anti-fraud mechanisms gave any provider who joined the system unlimited access to individuals' accounts."

Capita's shares yesterday moved into the red by 0.2 per cent, matching a generally downward trend in the company's share price. However, as of 11:35 (BST) this morning it was up 0.66 per cent to 383.60p.

In February, the company reported its financial results for 2001 in February, which showed its profits were not damaged by the ILA disaster.

The ILA scheme was launched in September 2000 to enable adults to develop IT and professional skills. But the project collapsed after it was discovered some training companies were making fraudulent claims.

In total the scheme cost £268m. However, the amount lost to fraudsters is not known.