HC Deb 22 July 1985 vol 83 cc402-3W
Mr. Dalyell

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if, pursuant to the answer of 16 May, Official Report, columns 212–13, he will give details of the review of the overall planning of the local office project; if he will give reasons for each of the changes arising from the review; and if he will make a statement on the implications of the changes for the time scale of hardware procurement for the overall cost of the projects, and the anticipated savings to arise from its implementation;

(2) what is his latest estimate of the total costs of (a) the whole local office computer project and (b) the first stage facilities of the project; what is the current value of orders for hardware for the first stage facilities; when the first hardware is now expected to be delivered; and how this compares with the original estimate for such deliveries;

(3) what is his latest estimate of the financial and staff savings, respectively, expected to arise from the first stage of the local office computer project; how these compare with his original estimates; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Whitney

The review resulted in a change only to the sequence of implementation of the various phases of the project. It concluded that the introduction of facilities for the assessment, calculation and payment of supplementary benefit in the first phase would lead to a more efficient system, would reduce disruption in local offices and would give better value for money than the original plan. The change did not, in itself, have any significant implications for the time scale of the major hardware procurement, although first deliveries will be later than expected.

It is estimated that the total cost of the project, up to April 1999, will be approximately £418 million, including capital, development and running costs. The costs of the first phase facilities have not been separately identified. No orders have yet been placed for hardware, the first of which will, it is expected, be delivered early in 1987. It is not possible, at this stage of project development, accurately to assess financial and staff savings. For the purposes of assessing the potential value of the project it has been estimated that staff savings will be of the order of 8,400 in a full year from the project as a whole. On that basis, over the costing period described above, it is estimated that gross financial savings will be of the order of £777 million. No valid comparison can be drawn with original estimates; they assumed a different approach to implementation.