§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Chairman of the Information Committee (1) what is his estimate of the date by which hon. Members will be able to access the Internet through the PDVN;
346W(2) what estimate has been made of the expenditure required to make the Internet available to users of the parliamentary data and video network;
(3) if hon. Members who access the Internet via the parliamentary data video network will be charged for the time for which they are on-line.
§ Mr. WallerSubject to endorsement by the Finance and Services Committee, it is hoped that hon. Members connected to the parliamentary data and video network and who request it, will be able to access the Internet on an experimental basis from May. A fixed charge line connection to the Internet is planned and access via this link would not be charged to individual Members. The expenditure issue is not yet fully resolved and I shall write to the hon. Member.