§ Mr. D. Priceasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many electronic computers are at present in use by Government Departments; what is their distribution between Government Departments; and what plans Her Majesty's Government have made for increasing their use of such computers.
§ Sir E. BoyleTwenty-one electronic computers are at present in use for clerical purposes by Government Departments and six more are on order. They vary considerably in size and their distribution is shown below. More computer systems are at various stages of planning.
ELECTRONIC COMPUTERS FOR CLERICAL WORK Department Number in use Number on order Admiralty 6 1 Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food 3 — Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland 1 — Air Ministry 1 1 Ministry of Aviation 1 — Board of Inland Revenue 1 — Ministry of Labour 1 — Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance 1 1 Post Office 3 — H.M. Stationery Office 1 — Board of Trade 1 — War Office 1 2 Ministry of Works — 1 Total 21 6