§ 15. Mr. Ian Gilmourasked the Postmaster-General what proportion of the machinery of the computers for the national Giro is to be manufactured in Great Britain, and what proportion is to be manufactured abroad.
§ Mr. Edward ShortAll the main processing computers are being manufactured in this country. Equipment for the optical reading and sorting of documents which incorporates computers has been ordered from a firm in the U.S.A. No British equipment offering the range of facilities required is available.
§ Mr. GilmourI regret that the Postmaster-General is unable to give a more exact reply. Can he assure the House that this proportion will not be altered by any prospective merger in the computing industry?
§ Mr. ShortI should like notice of that. It is a question which I cannot answer off the cuff. The order given to the United States amounts to about £1 million out of £3.7 million.