UK government says Fujitsu won’t use framework places to chase new customers
The UK government has told MPs that Fujitsu has assured officials it will not use its places on lucrative public sector procurement frameworks to win work from new government customers while its voluntary bidding moratorium remains in force. The commitment follows scrutiny after The Register revealed the scandal-hit Japanese IT supplier had secured spots on frameworks worth up to £14.9 billion, prompting Business and Trade Committee chair Liam Byrne to demand assurances. It matters because Fujitsu, still under investigation over its role in the Post Office Horizon scandal, could otherwise leverage its central role in government IT procurement despite hundreds of subpostmasters being wrongfully convicted using its faulty software.
Fujitsu won places on three frameworks: Digital Outcomes and Specialists 7 (worth up to £14.9 billion), Technology Services 4 (up to £19.08 billion) and Transport Technology (around £2.3 billion). Cabinet Office minister Mark Ferguson told MPs the Government Commercial Agency, which manages the frameworks and takes a 1 percent levy on sales, is monitoring Fujitsu's compliance and that the firm has so far honoured its self-imposed restrictions, in place since January 2024 pending the outcome of the Horizon public inquiry. However, The Register previously reported Fujitsu won a £125 million contract with a new customer, Northern Ireland's Department of Finance, after the moratorium began, which Fujitsu said related to a preferred-bidder status granted before the restrictions took effect.
In short
- Fujitsu pledges not to chase new government work via billion-pound frameworks
- Move follows scrutiny over its Post Office Horizon scandal role
- Government says Fujitsu has so far kept to its voluntary moratorium
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Fujitsu’s framework places could preserve access to public sector work while its voluntary bidding moratorium is in force, so a clear commitment not to use them to pursue new government customers helps maintain the spirit of that restriction. Given the Horizon scandal and the wrongful convictions linked to its faulty software, close monitoring and assurances to MPs are reasonable ways to protect public trust and ensure the firm does not gain new business through procurement routes that might otherwise bypass the moratorium.
The case against
The framework places were awarded through procurement processes, and their existence does not by itself show that Fujitsu has breached its voluntary moratorium. The company says it has honoured its restrictions, while the Northern Ireland contract followed preferred-bidder status granted before they began; applying the moratorium to new work through frameworks could therefore raise questions about how prior commitments and competition rules should be handled. Clear, consistently applied terms and evidence of actual non-compliance matter more than the mere scale of the frameworks.
Explained simply
Public sector procurement frameworks are arrangements that let government bodies buy IT and other services from suppliers that have been approved in advance. Fujitsu has places on three such frameworks, which together could cover contracts worth billions of pounds.
Fujitsu is a Japanese technology company that supplied the Horizon software used in Post Office branches. Faults in Horizon contributed to hundreds of subpostmasters being wrongly convicted, and a public inquiry is examining what happened. Since January 2024, Fujitsu has had a voluntary pause on bidding for new government work while the inquiry continues.
The Cabinet Office oversees government procurement, while the Government Commercial Agency manages the frameworks. MPs sought assurances after Fujitsu won framework places, asking whether it would use them to seek work from new government customers during the pause.