Northern Ireland Schools Ditch £485M Fujitsu Deal After Less Than A Year

Updated Fujitsu and a UK public authority have ended a £485 million ($613 million) contract the pair announced in the weeks following a national scandal around the Post Office computer system implemented by the Japanese tech services giant.

The Education Authority of Northern Ireland (EANI) ended a contract with Fujitsu – set to last an initial ten years – less than a year after it was signed.

The deal was designed to provide a new computer system for all schools in Northern Ireland. According to the BBC, EANI wrote to schools saying it and Fujitsu had mutually agreed to end the contract, without giving a reason.

In a statement to The Register, a Fujitsu spokesperson said: "Following extensive negotiations, the Education Authority of Northern Ireland and Fujitsu Services Limited have mutually agreed, on a no-fault basis, not to continue with the EdIS Strategic Partner and School Management System contract. Fujitsu would like to thank the Education Authority for its support and partnership over the past 11 months."

EANI has been offered the opportunity to respond.

In December 2023, just weeks before Fujitsu promised not to bid for UK public sector work in light of the Post Office Horizon Scandal – one of the UK's most wide-ranging miscarriages of justice – EANI handed Fujitsu the £485 million contract following a competition in which no other suppliers submitted final bids for the work.

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The education authority awarded Fujitsu the deal to provide services including a school management system for nursery, primary, secondary, and other education settings.

The strategic supplier agreement is intended to "support and manage a modern architecture, technical infrastructure and secure services for schools," the contract award notice said at the time.

The number of tenders received highlighted on the contract award notice relates to the initial supplier questionnaire stage. Three companies submitted tenders in December: Capita, TCS, and Fujitsu. By the time of the final tender submission, both Capita – the incumbent supplier – and TCS had withdrawn their bids.

At the time, a spokesperson for EANI said the award was made in compliance with procurement regulations. They said three tenderers were invited to bid in the final stage. "At the close of this process, EA received one tender and, following final evaluation, Fujitsu Services Limited was awarded the contract."

EANI added: "The robustness of the procurement process and detailed evaluation has provided the EA with an assurance that Fujitsu can and will deliver all required services."

In February, EANI awarded UK tech outsourcer Capita an extension worth £33 million ($41.8 million) to manage its schools' and colleges' IT without external competition. The award took the total value of the IT agreement, which began in 2012, to £546 million ($692 million) or about a fifth of the authority's annual budget. It was set to provide an additional year of Capita's services until March 31, 2025, to "permit transition to a new contract." ®

Updated to add at 1209 UTC November 19:

A spokesperson from EA told The Reg the move had happened following "extensive negotiations," and that the "the Education Authority of Northern Ireland and Fujitsu Services Limited ... mutually agreed, on a no-fault basis, not to continue with the EdIS Strategic Partner and School Management System contract."

They added: "We would like to thank Fujitsu for its support and partnership over the past 11 months."