Leader: Smaller firms need bigger role in government IT

It's perhaps surprising that any IT company is masochistic enough to take on government IT jobs.

Public sector tech projects - especially in central government - are so vast that only a few big players can cope with the demands and the risks.

And because government has to be more accountable than the private sector, when things go wrong there's a good chance it will result in some unpleasant press attention for the supplier involved.

On top of this, the government changes its policies quicker than David Beckham changes his haircuts, so firms are often forced to change the specifications of systems after they've started. Which usually means they go wrong or run over cost.

Of course, we're not shedding any tears here for the suppliers, who will be making a fine margin for all the extra work they have to put in. But the hoops that suppliers have to jump through to get government business are putting off some smaller players.

And that means the UK is missing out on innovations which could make our public services better and cheaper.

Over the last couple of years the oversight of government IT projects has certainly improved, and attempts to manage the development of projects through mechanisms such as the Office of Government Commerce's Gateway Reviews seem to be having some impact.

But getting smaller companies involved is an area where the public sector continues to struggle. Anything that can be done - from advertising more opportunities to making it mandatory for big players to bring some little fish in to deals - will surely benefit the UK.