The Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) has signed two new major IT contracts with Atos Origin and LogicaCMG, worth at least ?500m over the seven years.

The contracts are forecast to deliver cost savings of more than ?100m over the next seven years on comparable IT services, the department said. They would also provide IT infrastructure for the magistrates and crown courts, consolidating and replacing current infrastructure and application contracts as they expire.

Alex Allan, permanent secretary at DCA said in June that the Department had begun a tender process for IT contracts covering its entire operations, including Libra, the troubled case management and infrastructure contract for the magistrates? courts.

The current contract for supporting the Libra infrastructure, held by Fujitsu, runs out in March 2007, before the application is due to be fully implemented.

Allan said, ?The DCA now has first class contracts in place with world class suppliers selected to deliver them. The DCA is looking forward to working together with Atos Origin and LogicaCMG to deliver a modernised IT service and clear benefits to the tax payer, general public and Departmental staff.?

Award of the infrastructure contract to Atos Origin and the applications contract to LogicaCMG follows a two-year competitive procurement process involving the Office for Government Commerce (OGC), the DCA and the IT industry through the Intellect Concept Viability Forum.