§ Mr. Peter DuncanTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent representations she has received on1208W It is expected that this upgrade will improve the performance of the remote access service, within the limitations of the Citrix product.
The question of remote access for constituency staff is a matter for the President of the Council and is being pursued in the context of the changes to hon. Members' allowances which were agreed by the House on 5 July 2001. I understand that the House is in the final stages of placing a contract to provide Members with improved access to the Internet and to the Parliamentary Data and Video Network (PDVN) via a commercial Internet Service Provider (ISP). Once the necessary administrative, financial and technical elements are in place, Members' constituency offices will be able to connect directly to the PDVN using a Virtual Private Network (VPN), which will allow broadband access (such as ADSL where available) as well as ISDN and dial-up services. It is hoped that a pilot of the new service will take place in July 2002, and I am optimistic that this long-term solution will provide considerable benefits for hon. Members and their staff.