Fire service IT project delayed and £70m over budget

An IT system to underpin England's new fire control network is facing a £70m overspend and two-year delay.

A parliamentary committee is demanding "urgent" action after the projected budget for the IT section of the FiReControl system swelled from £120m to £190m and its finish date slipped from 2009 to 2011.

The setback in the plan to network nine new fire brigade control centres that will replace the 46 existing centres in England was criticised by the Communities and Local Government (CLG) committee.

It urged the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) to become better at co-ordinating complicated schemes involving a large number of partners and questioned the DCLG for saying the project showed its improved "delivery focus".

The report said: "The fact that the department cites a project two years behind schedule and 50 per cent over its initial IT budget as an example of how it is improving its delivery mechanisms highlights the persistent challenge that CLG continues to face."

A separate Firelink project to replace the telecommunications network for the fire service across the UK with a digital network, and fit new radio systems to 3,000 fire and rescue vehicles was set to be completed in December last year - but has been delayed until 2009.

The government faced staunch criticism last year after the Liberal Democrats claimed it had overspent on IT projects by more than £1bn.

Speaking at the time Stephen Timms, minister for competitiveness and former chief secretary to the Treasury, spoke of a commitment to reduce overspend on IT projects.

He said: "It's absolutely essential we manage public spending. We've been able to put right the legacy of underfunding [in IT projects].

"There will be an increase in public spending, which will put a new premium on efficiency."