Aspire IT contract will end in 2017

HMRC has reached a final agreement with its major information technology (IT) suppliers Capgemini and Fujitsu on the phased exit of the £10bn Aspire contract which ends in 2017.

Under the agreement HMRC will break the single overarching IT contract into a series of smaller more flexible deals with existing and new suppliers. Some services and staff will be brought in-house.

According to HMRC this approach will enable it to deliver a ‘ground-breaking digital strategy by taking advantage of emerging technologies such as open-source software and cloud services’. The department expects to save about 24% (£200m) a year by 2020/21 on the provision of like-for-like IT services against an £854m total IT spend in 2014/15.

HMRC will also be investing an additional £1.3bn over five years ‘to make it quicker and easier for the majority of individuals and businesses to manage their tax...