£20 million Fujitsu contract with environment agency ‘kick in the teeth for post-masters’, GMB Congress hears
Delegates called for an end to squandering tax-payers’ money on Government contracts with disgraced tech giant.
Despite the debacle of the Post Office Horizon System, on 8 January 2024, the Environment Agency confirmed that they would be extending its Flood Warning system contract with Fujitsu Services for a third time.
This takes the total value of the contract to £19.5 million until September 2025.
The system is used for flood forecasting to provide vital early warning information to national and international civil protection authorities and flood alleviation specialists, to make decisions on how to prepare for upcoming floods.
Cliff Roney, Water Worker and GMB Rep, told Congress:
“The continued use of Fujitsu is a kick in the teeth for all postmasters and proof that the Government has not learned any lessons.
“A colleague of mine received over 15 messages about flooding, with the last one saying ‘please move your livestock to high ground’.
“He lives in a normal terraced house so he moved his cat and dog to the roof.
“The Environment Agency faced criticism for relying on the autopilot system during Storm Babet in October 2023 which saw hundreds of thousands of people receiving unnecessary flood alerts and some receiving none at all and subsequently being flooded.
“Massive cost-cutting reductions in staff levels at the National Rivers Association have removed the element of a human checking alert accuracy.”
