DWP extends major network contract

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has extended a key contract with BT for a further three years.

The existing contract has transformed the department's voice and data networks to help it deal with millions of customer queries a day.

In a £237m extension, BT will continue to support the DWP's network, which also covers a number of the department's executive agencies.

The new contract will also ensure the department's network closely fits with the government's planned Public Sector Network programme – which aims to create the effect of a single network infrastructure across government, reducing costs and introducing utility-like network-orientated computing services. The PSN will replace the Government Secure Intranet.

Sir Leigh Lewis, permanent secretary for the DWP, said: "[The contract] has already played a major role in modernising the department's operations, enabling us to become even more customer focused and meet our customers' ever more complex communications needs. The extension of our contract will ensure that we are able to further improve our service to our customers, reduce costs and move closer to our objective of meeting Public Sector Network programme requirements."