§ Dr. Lynne JonesTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how much his Department's computer-aided facilities management systems cost; from whom they were purchased; how many person hours were required to commission them; what the estimated and actual saving has been from their operation; and to what extent the use of such systems accounts for the apparent rise in theft noted in his answer to the hon. and learned Member for Fife, North-East (Mr. Campbell) of 18 February,Official Report, columns 1012–14.
§ Mr. EggarThe Department uses computerised databases to collect among other things information on the theft of equipment. They contributed some data in the answer of 18 February to the hon. and learned Member for Fife, North-East (Mr. Campbell). The Department's main asset register uses packaged software supplied by Britannia Software PLC and has been run by the Department's Accounts Services Agency in Newport since 1 April 1993. In 1993–94 the cost of operating the register is expected to be approximately £80,000. Three staff are employed on the work. The Department's executive agencies maintain their own computerised assets registers using mainly Britannia or Sun software. While it is too early to quantify the direct savings from these asset registers, availability of data is likely to highlight theft in the short term while helping to reduce it in the long term.