Christopher Thoday

Rugby

Software Engineer

A primary feature of Open Source software is that the software is open to review. This is also a key feature of any software engineering quality control process.

A second important feature is that it puts the customer in control in a way that reliance on a single closed source supplier does not.

It is shocking that MP's are prevented from reviewing projects on the grounds of commercial confidentiality.

Of course the government would have to employ some software engineering expertise of its own. But this would surely be far less costly than the enormous sums of our money that the government is wasting on IT projects.

Government should not hand over responsibility for huge IT projects to any external contractor - particularly those who have failed frequently in the past.

It is also shocking how the products of one supplier are so deeply ingrained in the education system that some exams are related to a particular version of a proprietary product.

Instead of the education system being used to promote proprietary software, schools should be using free software so that all pupils can benefit.