The government's often-chequered procurement of IT has become a clear political issue. With the £12.7 billion NHS National Programme for IT hitting in recent weeks, the government is scrambling to find a solution. Health minister Mike O'Brien has lavished praise on the scheme, but the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have taken a different stance, saying centralised patient records needed to be scrapped.

Other IT-focused projects have also been met with political controversy. Last year the government backtracked on the £5 billion ID cards scheme, saying the cards will , but it pressed ahead with a biometric passport database that will store the same data. The Tories and Lib Dems have both vowed to entirely scrap even voluntary ID cards.

There is also the issue of offshoring public sector technology work. A number of projects have been sent abroad in recent months, including a with Tata Consultancy Services in India. The company already runs the new child support and maintenance scheme systems.

Tory advisers have suggested the party outsource back office functions if it wins the election -- according to public sector website Kable -- and some of this could go offshore. Such moves remain controversial.

Any party to win the election would likely focus on the use of to cut costs. But successful examples remain scarce, so far, and the move has been described as a "massive" culture change.