§ Mr. WarrenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many computer work stations there are in his Department; what is the ratio of work stations to civil servants; and how he expects this to change over the next five years.
§ Mr. HurdAt present there are some 2,100 computer work stations in the Department. This represents about one terminal for every 18 staff in post or, excluding the prison service, which accounts for some two thirds of the Department's complement, one for every six staff. "Work station" is here taken to include linked terminals and "stand-alone" microcomputers, but to exclude portable text processors. These figures are likely to increase substantially over the next five years but it is difficult to predict by what factor.