EDS 'volunteers' cash for benefits mess

IT services company EDS has "volunteered" to make a "contribution" to Kingston Borough Council after the council warned that unless it met its contractual obligations to pay residents' benefits on time, it would be sacked.

A spokesperson for EDS, which is responsible for the council's benefit payments system, told ZDNet UK News this morning that she "did not know" whether EDS had made the offer unsolicited, but maintained that it was a "voluntary gesture for some delays in payments".

Kingston confirmed that it was in discussion with EDS, but said that any money received from the firm could not be given to its residents for legal reasons. The money would probably go to "improving our existing infrastructure" according to a spokesman.