§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the Internet electronic mail addresses of(a) his Department and (b) each Minister in his Department; and if he will make a statement on his Department's approach to the information super-highway. [17727]
§ Mr. HowardWe appreciate the potential benefits of electronic mail and the information super-highway, and we are investigating how the Home Office's business activities might be enhanced by exploiting these technologies. Home Office Ministers do not yet have Internet addresses, and only a few members of staff in the scientific specialisms currently use Internet e-mail in their work. However, testing is in hand to widen access to Internet facilities, and some Home Office statistical information has already been made available to the entire Internet community via the CCTA government information service—www.open.gov.uk. The publication of Home Office e-mail addresses on the Internet is dependent on the outcome of current development work.