§ The Earl of Northeskasked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the projected costs to government departments of the Office of the e-Envoy charges for improvements to e-government services when the Capital Modernisation Fund (CMF) comes to an end in September; and [HL2997]
In respect of the intention of the Office of the e-Envoy to charge government departments for its services, whether they can explain the reported statement from the OeE that "the costs should be [invoiced to] where the savings are made". [HL2998]
§ The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Lord Macdonald of Tradeston):The Knowledge Network project within the Office of the e-Envoy was set up with funding from the Capital Modernisation Fund (CMF) to develop the infrastructure and initial applications and business systems to support inter-departmental working. The CMF funding for the project has now expired.
The Knowledge Network is now a successful ongoing service to government departments, with 32 departments and agencies using the infrastructure. As the main development stage is complete, it is in accordance with general government policy that the costs should be met by those benefiting from the service, hence the intention to introduce charges on user departments. The Office of the e-Envoy (OeE) is discussing details with users at the moment but charges are not expected to exceed£150,000 per year even for the major departmental users.
The OeE is also responsible for delivering two other major infrastructure developments, the UKOnline portal and the Government Gateway. Both projects are still receiving funding from the CMF. No decisions have yet been taken about moving these services on to a charging basis.