§ Mr. Laurance Reedasked the Minister for the Civil Service whether he can now announce the Government's policy on the purchase of computer software for Government installations.
§ Mr. David HowellSoftware companies have an important part to play in promoting the effective use of computers in sales both at home and overseas, including the European market. The Government's computing requirements will continue to grow and their projects could provide the software industry with valuable experience of particularly large and complex systems. The Government plan to increase substantially above the 447W present level of about £;1 .5 million per annum their purchases of consultancy, software and support services from the industry. This policy will be subject to regular review, and there will be careful control to ensure value for money. The computer hardware procurement policy is not affected.
An effective software capability will be maintained within the Civil Service for tasks best done there and for assessing outside work.