The UK government today released summary data for all procurement – including ICT spending – by central government departments and English local authorities during 2009.

The data reveals that the largest category of ICT expenditure across those bodies was managed and outsourced services, followed by telecommunications and networking.

The government department that spent most on ICT during 2009 was the Ministry of Defence, which spent £1.5 billion during the year, followed by the Department of Work and Pensions (£946 million) and HM Revenue and Customs (£805 million).  

The data also reveals that HMRC spent £690 million on managed services and outsourcing during the year – the principal beneficiary of which will have been the department’s IT services supplier Capgemini – and that the Ministry of Defence spent more than half its IT budget (£902 million) on networking.

In May 2010, chancellor George Osborne pledged to cut £95 million from government IT spending this year. That figure is equivalent to just 1.3% of the £7.6 billion that was spent on IT by central government and English local authorities during 2009.