Former leader Rob Howard accused Microsoft of “blackmail” as Warwickshire County Council braces itself for a hike in software costs.

The county’s cabinet – the Reform UK panel of councillors in charge of major service areas – approved without dissent a procurement exercise to renew the council’s Microsoft licences which are due to expire at the end of May 2027.

The report informing that decision anticipates a 15 per cent increase – around £375,000 per year – in the cost to the public purse, pushing the annual bill to approximately £3 million.

The new deal would tie the council in until May 2030 for licences that the report describes as “business critical”, providing the authority’s “core productivity, collaboration, information management, security and analytics capabilities”.

Former leader Rob Howard accused Microsoft of “blackmail” as Warwickshire County Council braces itself for a hike in software costs. Photos supplied and Warwick Courier.

placeholder image — Former leader Rob Howard accused Microsoft of “blackmail” as Warwickshire County Council braces itself for a hike in software costs. Photos supplied and Warwick Courier.

It warned that if the procurement exercise was not approved, procurement and assurance activity may not be completed before the current agreement expires, "increasing the risk of poorer commercial outcomes and disruption to essential digital services".

Councillor Keith Kondakor (Green, Weddington) highlighted the pitfalls by holding aloft a floppy disk that he bought more than 40 years ago.

“When we bought Microsoft products in 1983, we owned them,” he said.

“You couldn’t get trapped because once you bought your DOS (disk operating system), you got your DOS.

Former Warwickshire County Council leader Rob Howard. Photo supplied

“Then we had Windows and you had your Windows disk. The problem now is that we’re getting trapped into paying licence fees, we licence for a year or three years and then Microsoft can whack the price up.

“I ask the cabinet whether we are sure we want to trap so much into Microsoft now we don’t own the floppies of the licences we buy.

“If you are beholden to an American corporation, things can change.”

He noted that the French government is actively moving away from Microsoft.

Shire Hall in Warwick, which is home to Warwickshire County Council.

Despite the report being brought in the name of portfolio holder for resources and internal affairs Councillor Mike Bannister (Reform UK, Nuneaton Abbey), leader Councillor George Finch (Reform UK, Bedworth Central) handed over to portfolio holder for economy Councillor Rob Howard (Reform UK, Attleborough) – his predecessor as leader – for a response.

“You’ve echoed what we were talking about in our pre-meeting,” said Cllr Howard.

“I think we are all shocked about the amount of money this is going to cost us. We have no choice on this occasion, I’m afraid. It would be too quick to try to sort something out between now and next May that could replace what we have.

“However, we did talk about needing some form of review of the operating system. Are there alternatives? What would they be? What are the consequences? Can we develop something that works parallel to what we have that could eventually replace it?

“You’re right, we don’t want to be held with this sort of blackmail over the next 10 years. It is going to (be) more next time round.”

The decision only commits the county to the procurement exercise. Triggering the new deal will be subject to “the final value remaining within the available budget provision” but the report highlights that the council is looking at how to find the extra £375,000 per year.