Capita, one of the UK government’s biggest contractors, said it was investigating an IT outage that has left staff unable to access emails.
The company, which provides IT services and staff to a number of UK government and public sector bodies including the Ministry of Defence and Transport for London, said on Friday that it was investigating a “technical issue” with its systems.
The extent of the outage as well as its cause is still being investigated. A spokesperson for the company said in a text message. “We are aware of a technical issue with our systems, which we are investigating.”
Capita provides a range of services to the public and private sectors. It delivers support services to GPs, dentists, opticians and pharmacists in England’s NHS. Capita has digitised many critical processes including the ordering of medical supplies and the processing of payments.
The company has also been contracted by the Department for Work and Pensions to deliver Personal Independence Payment assessments, which are designed to help people with a long-term condition or disability lead independent lives through financial support.
Shares in the company fell almost 5 per cent on Friday.