§ Mr. ByersTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to outsource the service delivery directorate of his Department; what consultations have taken place with the employees who will be affected; and what analysis has been made of the benefits in terms of service and savings to be achieved from any such change.
§ Mr. HagueOn 31 January 1994, the chief executive of the Information Technology Services Agency announced proposals to transfer the bulk of day-to-day computer and output handling operations to the private sector with effect from April 1995.
A programme of meetings was held immediately at which the chief executive, Ian Magee, explained to all ITSA staff the proposals. There have been further meetings to enable employees to discuss the outsourcing with senior management.
Information suggests that significant improvements in value for money and services to ITSA's customers can be achieved by transferring this work to the well-developed market that now exists for this type of work.