§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will place in the Library a copy of the business case on which his decision on the CHIEF computer project was made.
§ Mr. LilleyNo. The business case for CHIEF contains commercial information that was supplied in confidence. This confidence would be breached if the report became a public document during the course of the contractual negotiations which are still taking place.
§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimated cost over the next 10 years of granting the CHIEF project to British Telecom, rather that its being continued in-house.
§ Mr. LilleyContractual negotiations for the development and operation of CHIEF are currently taking place with British Telecom and will not be concluded until towards the end of the year and figures will not be finalised until then. The release of information about the costs of the options for CHIEF could compromise these negotiations.