§ Mr. LlwydTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what has been the financial contribution made by his Department towards the development of the joint Department of the Environment and Welsh Office computer systems adopted in England and not in Wales;
(2) what moneys have been expended by his Department relating to computerisation of valuation tribunals in Wales; what was the cost per valuation tribunal office of the computer system devised by the
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1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 Percentage of staff costs Percentage of revenue expenditure Percentage of staff costs Percentage of revenue expenditure Percentage of staff costs Percentage of total revenue expenditure £ thousands £ thousands £ thousands (a) General and senior management 6,479 0.94 0.73 9,207 1.22 0.94 16,849 2.00 1.35 (b) Administration and clerical 64,317 9.37 7.24 73,616 9.79 7.53 84,949 10.11 6.80 (c) Medical and dental 94,594 13.78 10.64 107,080 14.24 10.95 120,692 14.36 9.67 (d) Nursing 338,347 49.29 38.07 364,864 48.53 37.31 403,047 47.95 32.28 Total staff costs 686,468 100.00 — 751,832 100.00 — 840,525 100.00 — Total revenue expenditure 888,642 — 100.00 978,024 — 100.00 1, 248,459 — 100.00 Department of the Environment and his Department for the management of council tax and non-domestic rate appeals; and if he will make a statement;
(3) what is the total cost of the computer system which his Department proposes to introduce into the valuation tribunal offices in Wales in 1993; what is the estimated cost of the alternative PC-based system put forward by Gwynedd valuation tribunal in 1992; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Gwilym JonesThe Welsh Office withdrew in August 1992 from the tripartite Department of the Environment and Inland Revenue computer project to provide valuation tribunal offices with a mini-computer system to handle council tax and non-domestic rate appeals. The grounds for withdrawal were that, given the small caseload of tribunal offices in Wales, a more cost-effective personal computer-based system could be provided.
It is estimated that the costs for development, procurement, installation and operation of the mini computer system over the first five years of operation would have been £1, 256, 000 for four offices plus the cost of additional development required for an off-site user in Powys and bilingual administration procedures. This included costs of £215, 985 which were incurred by the Welsh Office.
The cost of the personal computer system now being developed is estimated at around £450, 000 over the same period which would mean savings of £590, 000.
The ideas put forward by the Gwynedd valuation tribunal did not constitute a developed proposal, but were taken into account in reaching the decision to develop a personal computer based system for Welsh tribunal offices.