Government vows to open up IT contracts

Cameron and Clegg want to 'throw open the doors of public bodies'

The government has outlined plans to widen access to IT contracts in a Programme for Government document published yesterday.

The coalition will "take steps to open up government procurement and reduce costs", and will publish government ICT contracts online to help achieve this goal.

Further measures to widen procurement access will include creating "a level playing field for open source software", and breaking up large ICT projects into "smaller components".

The previous administration's high-profile E-Borders project was given support in the document, but there was no indication of whether this contract will be now be split up.

In a document focusing on the three principles of "freedom, fairness and responsibility", the government will also demand full online disclosure of all central government spending and contracts over £25,000.

A new "right to data" will ensure that all government-held information can be requested, used and published by the public on a regular basis, the document said.

In line with this policy, councils will have to publish minutes of meetings and performance data on local services, and reveal all contracts and tenders in full and any spending over £500.

The coalition parties believe that "throwing open the doors of public bodies " will achieve better value for money, and enable businesses and non-profit organisations to build innovative applications and web sites which use this new wave of data.

The document also supported the rapid rollout of superfast broadband across the country, ensuring that infrastructure providers such as BT "allow use of their assets" to deliver this commitment.

The government reiterated its plan to use part of the TV licence fee to fund broadband in areas that the market alone will not reach.