A councillor has called upon the council to explore alternative options for their IT procurement after concerns over links to the Israel-Hamas war.

Councillor Jim Bollan addressed West Dunbartonshire councillors at a meeting on October 30 to explore alternatives to the current IT contract after it was said to provide IT services to the Israeli Defence Force (IDF).

It is understood that the Scottish Government's contract with HP Inc. is due to finish in August next year and the council can draw on this contract but if they find a better deal elsewhere they can take it without breaking the government agreement.

Speaking at the council meeting, Jim said: "With the HP contract entering its final possible extension with the Scottish Government we should be looking at options, therefore council agrees to explore alternative procurement options and platforms open to the council when we purchase our IT hardware and software.

"HP currently provide all the hardware and software for the Israeli Defence Force in Palestine, where to date 40,000 Palestinians have been killed by the IDF.

"Officers should report back to the council on the feasibility of this move with any potential costs and savings included."

Martin Rooney, leader of West Dunbartonshire Council, supported the motion to investigate other options and asked his fellow councillors to follow suit.

He said that the Scottish Government confirmed directly to the council that this HP issue has been raised on a regular basis throughout the Scottish public sector and the government has further stated that they are not aware of any such grounds for exclusion or breach of contract in relation to the current Framework Agreements with HP Inc UK Ltd.

Speaking after the meeting, Rooney said: "The Scottish Government framework is due to finish in August 2025 so there may be a change of supplier at that point in any event. It is therefore worth investigating the market in any event in case the outcome of the Scottish Government Tender didn’t work for us.

"It is perfectly legal for us to award to someone else if they met our award criteria which would only be based on criteria in line with those treaty obligations and our best value criteria based on the most economically advantageous terms.

"Therefore it is open to us to choose a source other than our current provider where it has been properly procured in line with treaty obligations.

"In his motion, councillor Bollan refers to the horrific impact the conflict has had on the Palestinian people of Gaza. Unfortunately, he failed to mention the horrific attacks and hostage-taking on October 7, last year which were carried out by Hamas in Israel.

"It’s now over a year since the October 7 attacks and we desperately need a ceasefire, the return of hostages and to get more humanitarian aid into Gaza as a matter of urgency."