Prison Service postpones IT project

The Prison Service has announced a six month suspension of its IT systems overhaul, called Quantum.

A written statement explained that the scheme, initiated in 1996 and funded through the Private Finance Initiative, would be reassessed to make sure that the project could deliver an appropriate system for the country's 135 prisons.

The Prison Service director general wrote: "During negotiations with potential suppliers, it has become apparent that it may not be possible to achieve the original objectives of providing the service with information systems which safeguard the operational capability of the Prison Service. We must satisfy ourselves now that the project will deliver what we want. At the moment I am not satisfied that this is so."

The project has reached the stage of short listing two suppliers - EDS and Prism - which will both now have to wait to find out if they are still in the running after the review.