The Treasury has announced a package of cuts amounting to £6.2 billion worth of savings from the public sector budget.
Included in these measures is a £95 million saving to be made through a reduction in IT spending, £120 million saving to be made through a civil service recruitment freeze and £1.2 billion from local government.
Commenting on the Chancellor’s statement on cuts, Jeff Brooks, Chair of REC Technology said:
“Public sector budgets were expected to be cut regardless of who formed the government after the election. We would advise the new Government not to sever critical IT investment projects indiscriminately. IT can help the government and public services to function more efficiently but if we start randomly dropping IT projects now, that could act to add costs rather than eliminate them in the long run. There is also a concern that local authorities, who have to find their own savings, will contribute to the cuts package announced today by scrapping key IT improvement projects at a local level.”
Brooks added: “These actions could act to add costs and could also put the jobs recovery at risk. IT professionals who are worried about their position should speak to IT recruiters who are well placed to discuss their career options and help them find work elsewhere.”