§ Mr. Anthony Grantasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will provide a breakdown of the cost of £150 million for computerising PAYE.
§ Sir Geoffrey HoweAs stated in my right hon. Friend's reply to the question by the hon. Member for Cardigan (Mr. Howells) on 26 June—[Vol. 987, c. 254–55]—the current estimate of total gross expenditure on PAYE from now until full implementation is between £140 million and £150 million. This figure covers not only equipment (hardware) and software, but also staff costs and accommodation, and its main components are as follows:
£ million Staff costs (including external support) … … … … 33 Accommodation for computer centres and adaptation of local offices … … … … 26 Equipment: Computer centres (including main computers, software and maintenance charges) … … 30 Local offices (VDU's, printers and maintenance charges) … 30 Communications equipment and other costs … … … 25 These figures are broad orders of magnitude only, and are dependent upon negotiations with suppliers and might well be reduced.