§ Mr. WarrenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many officials in his Department at grade 3 and above have, since promotion to the level of grade 3, attended a course(a) specifically on information technology and (b) containing an element of information technology; and what percentage each represents of all the staff in those grades in his Department.
§ Mr. FreemanTwenty-seven (55 per cent.) of the 49 officials at grade 3 or above have attended courses specifically on information technology since their promotion to the level of grade 3. Of the remaining 22 officials, three (6 per cent.) have attended courses with an element of information technology.
§ Mr. WarrenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many work stations excluding stand-alone word processors are currently installed in his Department; and what is the ratio of such work stations to civil servants.
§ Mr. FreemanThe Department of Health has 1,032 work stations in use. The ratio of work stations to staff is 1 for every 3.13 staff.
§ Mr. WarrenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health which Minister in his Department is responsible for clay-to-day management of his Department's information technology strategy; and what proportion of his time was spent on this matter in the month up to Friday 13 October.
§ Mr. FreemanThe day-to-day management of the Department of Health's information technology (IT) strategy is the responsibility of officials. I am responsible for oversight of IT matters in the Department of Health. IT is in general so integrated into the Department's business functions that to attempt to apportion specific intervals of my time to its consideration would involve a disproportionate effort to obtain.