Some while ago I wrote to Joan Humble MP to ask if the Government will be applying Service Level Failure charges against Electronic Data Systems (EDS) in connection with the Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) system. Joan forwarded the question to the Minister and I received a reply from Rt Hon Bob Ainsworth MP (as Duty Minister).Bob tells me that "MOD investigates every Service Level Failure and judges whether EDS are in part or wholly responsible. If EDS is partly or wholly responsible, the Service Pensions and Veterans Agency applies all the available contract options to ensure the MOD achieves the appropriate recompense."
Unfortunately he goes on to say that, "MOD's contracts with EDS do not carry financial penalties," which seems bizarre in the least but, "they do contain provisions linking payment to performance in order to ensure value for money." However, and despite this, "disclosure of whether or not MOD has exercised its contractual rights under these provisions could prejudice the MOD's on-going commercial relationship with its contractors."
So, what he is saying is that whilst there have been service failures, and there are provisions in the contracts to deal with these, he isn't going to say so or enforce the contract because it might upset our suppliers? Astonishing, but wait, who does the Minister think is to blame for the failures? Well, Bob puts the blame squarely on our troops as he says, "when failures in service delivery relating to pay or allowances do occur, there can be a variety of causes including incorrect or late inputs to the JPA system by individuals and/or their support staff. However, as personnel become more familiar with the system, we expect problems to decrease."
