§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Chairman of the Information Committee (1) when he expects the parliamentary data and video network to be available to all hon. Members; and how much this would cost;
(2) what are the annual running costs for the parliamentary data and video network.
§ Mr. WallerBy the end of the 1995 summer recess, it is expected that some 550 hon. Members, including all hon. Members with offices in the outbuildings will have access to the video service, which includes the clean feed of proceedings of the House. Because the installation of cabling and trunking on the parliamentary estate is a complex exercise which can only be undertaken during summer recesses, full cabling of all Members' offices is not expected to be completed until the end of 1997. Hon. Members who wish to have access to the network and who have offices in areas of the parliamentary estate which have not yet been cabled may do so by means of a modem. On the matter of costs, I would refer the hon. Gentleman to the first report from the Information Committee in Session 1993–94 on "The Provision of a Parliamentary Data and Video Network"—House of Commons Paper No. HC237—which was approved by the House on 30 June 1994.