WE should all be glad that the relationship between failing benefits contractors Atkins and Swindon Council is now at an end.

And justifiable and strident criticism will be hurled at Swindon Council for having allowed a situation in which community taxpayers now have to shoulder a large bill for severing its deal with a firm that failed dismally to provide the expected service.

However, Atkins' almost farcical failures had reached a stage where it has become worth a £250,000 golden handshake to be rid of the firm.

Hopefully this expensive experience is now being seen as an important lesson by senior officers who recommended that Atkins offered best value for the handling of computerised community tax demands and housing benefit payments. Their judgement was clearly at fault. The people of Swindon will now be hoping that in handing the remainder of the contract to Liberata at the cost of an additional £800,000 they have now got it right.

It needs only a quick glance at our list of what Atkins' £250,000 severance pay could have been spent on to bring into focus the real value of this appalling episode.

Such a mistake must never be made again.