CSA computer system has meltdown

The Child Support Agency’s under fire computer system caused chaos last week, after being offline for four days.

The problems emerged on Monday when staff were unable to gain access to online case files as the system had ground to a halt. Customers ringing for Child Support Agency advice were advised to call back in several days’ time.

Engineers were sent in from the company that built the computer system, HP Enterprise Services, which used to be known as EDS. The system, called CS2, was created in 2003 as part of a private finance initiative (PFI) contract that was worth £465 million. It was heralded by many, including MPs and the National Audit Office, as a disaster. The eminent Public Accounts Committee described it as “a turkey from day one”.

Even though the system was unusable, a spokesman for the Child Maintenance And Enforcement Commission stated that caseworkers were on hand to deal with general enquiries, and that payments had not been affected.

The Labour government announced in 2007 that it planned to spend £300 million in an effort to improve the computer system, which is used to administer around 50 per cent of the CSA’s cases, but this latest failure indicates that serious flaws still remain.

Speaking to website The Register, Andrew, a CSA customer affected by the outage, commented:

“This is causing a lot of stress and upset for those of us who are trying to legitimately deal with the CSA and who are now ‘on hold’ unable to add to information to their cases.”

“I’m under a lot of stress, haven’t slept for days and have to keep waiting with the millstone of an incorrect calculation around my neck.”

HP Enterprise Services managed to get the computer system up and running again late last week.