On Saturday 01 December 2001 21:28, you wrote:
If the content of this article is true (and I have reason to believe it is, having been the person who tipped off The Register, based on information from a third party), there is almost certainly nothing we can do to change what happens.
Try E-mailing James.Robertson@nao.gsi.gov.uk. (National Audit Office) cc to national press will help focus their minds. Express concern that these deals are flouting the NAO guidelines on tendering and also the need to establish value for money by considering the cost against similar alternatives. Tenders through the EU are essential to establish market values and there needs to be transparency in any savings. The basis of the savings in the NHS deal is not clear and no-one is volunteering to show how the figure for the "saving" was derived. If tendering is inappropriate because of monopoly, then regulation should be the option. Its one or the other, tendering or regulation and neither has been applied in the case of the NHS. Copy your E-mail to the editors of the national daily papers. If you are in the open source business complain to the office of fair trading that these deals are damaging your business by furthering and augmenting an established monopoly. Darren.Eade@oft.gsi.gov.uk cc to national press will help focus their minds. Also complain if you think EU requirements that procurement of greater value than £150,000 should be advertised in the EU journal and tendered to member states are not being met and that your business was not given the opportunity to compete. If you have contacts in other member states eg SUSE in Germany, Mandrake in France, get them to E-mail as well. Markt-B2@cec.eu.int.
But we can help to educate politicians and journalists - the more people write to their MPs, talk to journalists etc about what is really happening, the better.
Quite, get all your contacts to E-mail the above. Numbers indicate votes so the more the better. Keep it objective on the issues above and try not to give the impression that you are some kind of partisan nutter :-).
I think it's particularly important that this should be reported by the press in a cynical way: that requires journalists who understand the issues. I think there may be something in the Observer tomorrow. (Please don't buy the Sunday Times...)
More generally, the conflict of which this is a part is really hotting up now.
So let's pour some petrol on it ;-)
On Fri, 30 Nov 2001, Malcolm Herbert wrote: > http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/23096.html
Regards, -- IanL