> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.thequarry.media/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Guernsey's new IT system led to £3.3m in transition expenses and a £652,000 legal bill, staff feedback is positive - URL: https://www.thequarry.media/guernseys-new-it-system-led-to-3-3m-in-transition-expenses-and-a-652-000-legal-bill-staff-feedback-is-positive/ - Published: 2026-10-07T09:02:33.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-07T09:02:33.000Z - Author: The Quarry - Tags: News - Guernsey spent £10.1 million in the first year of its new multi-vendor IT model, with £38.5 million estimated over four years and £25 million already committed in contracts. - The States spent £652,000 on external legal fees relating to the termination of its contract with Agilisys between August 2025 and July 2026. - Transition costs totalled £3.3 million, including £1.4 million in professional fees and £1.9 million in vendor payments, with an additional £1.5 million approved for 2026 operations. - Government says the new model costs "broadly the same" as the previous single-vendor arrangement but refuses to provide detailed supplier spending breakdowns citing commercial confidentiality. - Twenty-nine staff transferred from previous provider Agilisys, whilst new internal roles cost £811,011 annually in salaries plus £187,350 for external contractors. Listen to this article 0:00 /0 1× Guernsey's government has spent £10.1 million in the first year of operating its new multi-vendor IT model, with total costs estimated at £38.5 million over four years, [according to a Freedom of Information response](https://www.gov.gg/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=204175&p=0&ref=thequarry.media). The figures cover the period from 1 August 2025 to 31 July 2026, following the island's transition from a single outsourced IT provider, Agilisys, to a system using multiple specialist suppliers. The government has committed £25 million in consolidated contracts, leaving £13.5 million in uncommitted costs over the four-year period. Officials said the uncommitted portion reflects shorter-term arrangements with vendors "where service information was lacking from the single-vendor model." Transition costs between January 2025 and July 2026 totalled £3.3 million, comprising £1.4 million in project team professional fees and £1.9 million in transition and transformation charges paid to new vendors for service take-on and initial improvements. The States approved additional funding of £1.531 million for 2026, including £131,000 for roles supporting administration of the multi-vendor model and £1.4 million "to reflect the cost requirement to operate the Multi-Vendor Model and the move the coordinating role for the single vendor to the States of Guernsey." The government acknowledged that comparing costs with the previous Agilisys contract is "not a direct like-for-like comparison" due to differences in scope and service delivery. Analysis during the transition indicated the multi-vendor model would cost "broadly the same" as the Agilisys-centred model, and less than if Agilisys's requested fee increase had been approved. Officials said precise comparisons were impossible because "discussions with Agilisys were ongoing regarding their request for an increase in contractual charges" and scope differences make direct financial comparison misleading. Twenty-nine staff members transferred from Agilisys to the new Digital & Technology team structure. The government described this as "a particular success of the transition," noting these costs were already embedded in the IT budget and represented a shift from "Non-Pay" to "Pay" costs. New internal roles created for the multi-vendor model cost £811,011 in annual salaries, or £928,608 including employer contributions. Actual gross costs for the August 2025 to July 2026 period were £407,422\. The government also spent £187,350 on external IT specialists on fixed-term contracts. The government refused to provide detailed breakdowns of spending with major suppliers including C5 Alliance, JT, Apogee and EPAM, citing commercial confidentiality and competitive sensitivity. Officials invoked three separate exemptions under Freedom of Information rules, stating that "categorising this spend per the request has been considered unnecessarily voluminous." The FOI response states the government "does not hold a formal like-for-like performance assessment" comparing the Agilisys arrangement with the multi-vendor model. Officials said the two models "differ materially in both scope, demand and delivery approach." The previous model was "predominantly outsourced," whilst the current system uses "specialist suppliers integrated and governed by States of Guernsey Digital & Technology." Services now included in the multi-vendor model that had "continued challenges" under Agilisys include Health & Social Care Services, TETRA emergency communications and Education, Sport & Culture services. Despite the absence of formal performance metrics, the government provided positive qualitative assessments. "Early indications from the first year are positive from a service-user perspective, with services becoming more stable and improving overall," the response states. "User feedback has resulted in a major change of negative to positive feedback for the States of Guernsey service desk and provisioning and implementation of end user equipment," officials added. Other improvements cited include fewer outages, stronger security, closer working relationships with suppliers, better management of infrastructure complexity and clearer understanding of technical debt. The government said its "initial priority has been to stabilise services and reduce outages and critical incidents, while continuing to deliver projects wherever possible." The response indicates all recommendations from a scrutiny report have been incorporated into the new model. Five key recommendations were tracked, with three marked as complete: implementation of a credible Chief Information Officer, establishment of an IT Advisory Board, and improvement of supplier management and specialist IT contract management. Two recommendations remain partially complete: establishing a clear strategy for future action including a coherent IT strategy and target operating model, and ensuring appropriate investment is available to deliver the target operating model. The government emphasised its principle of "inspect, don't expect" – active monitoring of supplier performance rather than passive acceptance. Key governance changes include defined contractual performance measures, service level agreements, formal governance arrangements and greater ability to hold suppliers accountable. "The multi-vendor model allows the Digital & Technology team to hold vendors to account, providing more flexibility, ability to quickly change vendors in case there is a need for a change to service or a rapid termination event," the response states. Officials said the transition provided greater strategic control over digital services, reduced reliance on a single supplier, specialist services from providers with specific technical expertise and improved accountability, flexibility and resilience. "Working directly with service providers gives us greater influence over the direction of our IT estate and enables necessary changes to be delivered more quickly in response to growing cyber threats and rapid technological innovation," the government stated. The £13.5 million in uncommitted costs over four years reflects a deliberate strategy of using shorter-term contracts "where service information was lacking from the single-vendor model" to reduce risk exposure to performance issues, allow greater control and flexibility, and enable adjustment of contract terms or seeking alternative vendors. Longer-term contracts are used "where the scope of services are known and predictable and where value for money and a proven track record and/or commercial opportunities in the delivery of goods and services" exist. The government confirmed that "the States of Guernsey's current approved strategic position remains the operation of a multi-vendor delivery model for Digital and Technology services." "The States remains satisfied with this approach and recognises that the model has been in operation for a relatively short period of time and requires sufficient time to mature before any meaningful assessment can be made regarding potential future changes," officials said. "Accordingly, there are currently no approved plans to depart from the multi-vendor approach." The government invoked exemption rules regarding "any internal discussions of strategic variations to the multi-vendor approach, to avoid any early-stage considerations coming under prejudice." The response stated the States "does not hold any approved strategic decisions, plans or proposals" beyond the current position. Officials emphasised that value assessment extends beyond simple cost comparison. "The States therefore assesses value for money more broadly, taking account of service quality, organisational resilience, access to specialist expertise, flexibility to respond to changing requirements and the reduction of dependency on any single supplier," the response states. "The success of the model is therefore measured not solely by reference to contract costs but by its ability to provide secure, resilient and effective digital services that support the delivery of public services and represent value for money over the longer term." Under the previous Agilisys model, many critical functions were delivered through the single outsourced provider. The States of Guernsey is now directly responsible for service integration, supplier management, contract management, architecture, service assurance, governance, operational oversight and coordination of services across multiple providers. "These capabilities enable the States to act as an informed customer and intelligent client, providing greater visibility of service performance, risk and value than was possible under a single-supplier arrangement," officials said. "The additional roles created during the transition were therefore not simply administrative positions but form a core part of the operating model required to coordinate multiple specialist suppliers, manage interdependencies, oversee contractual performance and ensure accountability for outcomes." The model now includes dedicated cyber security services and specialist support arrangements through separate contracts, representing capabilities "that were not directly aligned to the contractual baseline of the previous managed service arrangement." The Agilisys contract ended on 31 July 2025, with the multi-vendor model beginning operation on 1 August 2025\. The FOI request was received on 22 July 2026 and the response provided on 6 October 2026. The government acknowledged several data gaps, including no single consolidated performance comparison between models, with performance information held at individual service and supplier level rather than consolidated. Financial information is held "across several systems and service areas rather than within a single consolidated record." Officials noted multiple times that information was being provided "in the format in which it is maintained by the States of Guernsey" rather than in newly created comparative analyses. ### Legal bill The States incurred £652,000 in external legal fees in connection with the termination of its contract with Agilisys, according to information released under a s[eparate freedom of information request](https://www.gov.gg/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=204177&p=0&ref=thequarry.media). The costs cover the period from 1 August 2025 to 31 July 2026 and relate to contract governance in the seven months prior to termination as well as work directly connected to ending the arrangement. The Policy & Resources Committee stated that the figure includes legal advice concerning the proposed termination, preparation and implementation of the termination, negotiations and correspondence, dispute resolution or litigation-related preparation, and subsequent legal work arising from the termination. Of the total, £585,000 was spent on off-island law firms whilst £67,000 went to Guernsey-based firms. No legal retainers were paid, entered into or drawn down in connection with the matter. UK-based DAC Beachcroft handled all matters relating to governance and termination of the Agilisys contract except Guernsey law, incurring fees of £585,000\. Carey Olsen dealt with all Guernsey law matters relating to contract governance and termination at a cost of £67,000. The States said that £619,000 has been paid, £19,000 has been invoiced but not yet paid, and an estimated £14,000 in fees have not yet been invoiced. Support provided through Law Officers of the Crown was delivered within existing budgets at no additional cost to the States. The £652,000 figure therefore relates to external legal advisers only. The freedom of information request was submitted on 22 July 2026 and responded to on 6 October 2026. The States noted that a dedicated internal team undertook a methodical review of the contractual and performance obligations of the outsourced service, drawing on external expertise where appropriate to ensure the States' legal position was robust and well supported. This disciplined approach reduced the cost to the public purse by avoiding projected exit and transition costs of approximately £5 million, according to the response. The legal costs do not include advice in relation to the establishment of contracts for the new multi-vendor model introduced from 1 August 2025 following the transition from the previous Agilisys managed service arrangement. The States said its records do not readily distinguish the costs of termination alone because the legal matters are so closely related. The scope of advice included in the total is therefore broader than that requested in the freedom of information request. The multi-vendor model comprises several separate supplier contracts and internal service arrangements. Information relating to expenditure, commitments, contracts and staffing is held across several systems and service areas rather than within a single consolidated record. The off-island law firm costs include disbursements, which represent a relatively small part of the total fee and are not readily extracted as a separate total from States accounting systems. The States emphasised that the response is not a waiver of legal privilege, nor consent to disclose detailed invoices or time narratives. In September 2025, the Policy & Resources Committee publicly stated that it intended to publish the legal fees incurred and the legal advice received in relation to this matter within the coming months. The freedom of information requester noted they were seeking an updated and complete figure for the legal costs incurred or committed to date. The States has confirmed that all costs associated with the transition away from Agilisys have now been invoiced and paid. ## Q&A **Q: How much did the first year of Guernsey's new IT system cost?** A: The multi-vendor IT model cost £10.1 million in its first year of operation from August 2025 to July 2026, with total costs estimated at £38.5 million over four years. **Q: Why did Guernsey change from a single IT provider to multiple vendors?** A: The government implemented all recommendations from a scrutiny report, seeking greater strategic control, reduced reliance on a single supplier, improved accountability and flexibility, and the ability to respond more quickly to cyber threats and technological innovation. **Q: How many staff transferred from the previous provider?** A: Twenty-nine staff members transferred from Agilisys to the new Digital & Technology team structure, which the government described as a particular success that retained local IT expertise within the organisation and community.