Fujitsu promised to sit out UK deals ... then Northern Ireland called with £125M

Despite Horizon fallout, Japanese supplier continues to win public sector work

Fujitsu has won a £125 million ($167 million) contract to build Northern Ireland's new land registry system, despite promising not to bid for UK public sector work in the wake of the Post Office Horizon scandal.

NI's Department of Finance awarded the Japanese tech supplier the project to create a new solution to replace an aging standalone legacy system.

"The new solution will be user friendly, customer focused, support web-based technologies, digital self-service platforms and seamlessly connect and integrate with the LPS Enterprise Integration Platform to share and consume data and business events," a contract award notice states.

The contract has an initial term of 15 years with the option to extend for up to three years in total.

In January last year, Fujitsu wrote to the UK government to confirm it would no longer tender for business in the public sector amid the ongoing inquiry into the Post Office scandal after a television dramatization brought public attention to its role in the Horizon debacle.

At the time, a Cabinet Office spokesperson told The Register: "We welcome Fujitsu's decision to pause bidding for work with new government customers until such time as the inquiry concludes."

The public inquiry centers on the deployment of Fujitsu's bug-ridden Horizon accounting system, which made mistakes in calculating the finances of Post Office branches run by postmasters and postmistresses. This had devastating consequences for many involved, leaving some bankrupt and others feeling suicidal, with several ending their own lives. Sixty people died before seeing any form of justice served.

The inquiry has finished its hearings but continues to examine and consider new evidence. It is yet to produce a report.

Nonetheless, the NI Department of Finance said Fujitsu's land registry system would be "flexible and adaptable to support new and innovative methods of delivery, future changes and ongoing business needs." The Register has asked the department and Fujitsu to comment.

It has taken more than three years to find a supplier to fit the bill after the department first published a competitive contract notice in December 2021.

At the time, it said it was planning to replace a BT system running since 1999. Costs on the BT contract to build and run the LandWeb system more than doubled since it was first signed, owing to multiple contract extensions. In 2008, a report by the Northern Ireland Audit Office said the lack of transferability of the intellectual property rights in the LandWeb Agreement placed the services in an over-dependent position with BT.

Since saying it would not bid for UK public sector work, Fujitsu has been named on a number of procurements. It won a place on a UK tech framework worth up to £600 million ($802 million). A spokesperson later said that although Fujitsu had been awarded a place on the framework, it was not committed to any specific work.

"Going forward, call-off notices will be issued, and we will work with [Northern Ireland's health service] to decide on a case-by-case basis where Fujitsu's services may be needed and in accordance with our voluntary undertaking to restrict where we bid for new work within the public sector."

When we asked the pair about the NI Land Registry bid award, a Fujitsu spokesperson said: "We are proud to have been selected as a partner to support Land & Property Services's Land Registration modernization and digital transformation programme, which will help deliver value to the NI economy and drive more efficient services.

"We are a significant employer in Northern Ireland, and this contract will be delivered by our teams in Belfast and Derry/Londonderry.

"We continue to work with the UK Government to ensure we adhere to the voluntary restrictions we put in place regarding bidding for new contracts while the Post Office Inquiry is ongoing."

A spokesperson for the Department of Finance said: "The Department conducted a robust and rigorous procurement process which resulted in Fujitsu being the preferred bidder for the delivery of the new Land Registration IT solution.

"This contract which will be delivered by Fujitsu staff in Belfast and Derry will see the implementation of a range of new services via digital channels including customers being able to submit applications online.

"This contract was awarded in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended). There is no provision within these regulations to exclude the company from being awarded the Land Registration IT contract."

In June last year, the UK's Department for Education awarded Fujitsu a £4.75 million ($6.34 million) deal, modifying an existing contract.

Fujitsu has apologized for its role in the Horizon scandal. Paul Patterson, director of Fujitsu Services Ltd, told MPs in January that the vendor was "truly sorry" for aiding the Post Office's prosecutions, while CFO Takeshi Isobe conveyed "deepest apologies to the sub-postmasters and their families."

Shortly before the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office aired in January 2024, the UK's Environment Agency awarded a £2 million ($2.7 million) contract extension to Fujitsu to run the flood warning system after apparent delays in finding a replacement supplier.

The Education Authority of Northern Ireland (EANI) awarded a £485 million ($648 million) contract to Fujitsu in December 2023, but canceled the contract in November last year. ®