A consortium of vendors led by Logica has signed a £157 million deal to provide the UK’s Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) with IT and case management systems.

The ten-year contract also includes the providers Detica, Cable & Wireless, and Qinetic.

SOCA said the agreement will support increased collaboration with partner agencies, better use of intelligence and case management, and efficiencies through infrastructure consolidation.

"This contract secures an efficient and sustainable IT platform which will enable us to modernise and enhance our technological capabilities in fighting crime and improve the effectiveness of UK law enforcement in dislocating criminal markets," commented Trevor Pearce, director general of Soca, in a statement.

The contract is another example of the Cabinet Office’s difficulty in enforcing a pledged deal value limit of £100 million on all public sector IT agreements. Another, in December, was the Ministry of Defence’s signing of an 11-year, £800 million IT logistics information systems deal with Boeing.

The Cabinet Office’s web site currently states that delivery of its commitment to keep IT contracts under £100 million is "overdue".