A committee of MPs has delivered a scathing assessment of the UK government's ability to modernize legacy IT systems. 

The report, from the House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts, said too many senior government officials lack the "know-how for making good decisions and to drive digital business change". 

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The committee also found it had "no clear plane to replace or modernize legacy systems and data" that are critical to public service delivery. 

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"Legacy systems, some of which date back to the 1970s, are widespread across government, which relies on them for important services such as managing the UK's borders and paying the state pension," the committee said.

As noted by The Register, the UK's National Audit Office in September found that the Department for Work and Pensions' 34 year-old mainframe was partly to blame for not paying out