More Than £11m Spent On Contracts For Scrapped Isle Of Wight Tracing App

Friday, 19 June 2020 15:16

By Oliver Dyer @olidyer

Figures show the government spent more than £11 million on tracing app contracts before making a U-turn to work with Apple and Google.

The news comes 24 hours after the Government decided to abandon plans to make its own app - which was being tested here on the Isle of Wight.

Yesterday (Thursday), Health Secretary Matt Hancock defended the decision to switch focus to a new decentralised version, blaming "technical barriers."

According to the Press Association (PA), Government records show 11 contracts have been awarded to private firms aiding the app’s development.

In total, it says the contracts have cost a total of £11,297,811.

More than £5 million was awarded to software firm Zuhlke Engineering across two contracts for development and support on the app, according to PA.

Department of Health and Social Care figures also show that more than £4.8 million was awarded to developer VMware and its subsidiary Pivotal in three contracts for work on the creation of the app.

PA says a number of other contracts to several other firms were also awarded for work on security testing of the application, ranging in value from £67,000 to more than £162,000.

Speaking to Isle of Wight Radio yesterday, Isle of Wight MP Bob Seely, who championed the app, would not be drawn on overall cost of the 'trial'.

He told Isle of Wight Radio "he did not know" the figure.

Although he said it was "nowhere near" the number quoted by the Isle of Wight Green Party, who claimed "it is set to be worth £250 million."

No date has been set for the rollout of a tracing app, despite ministers previously saying it would be available in May.

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More Than £11m Spent On Contracts For Scrapped Isle Of Wight Tracing App

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