§ Mr. WarrenTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many computer work stations there are in his Department; what is the ratio of work stations to civil servants; and how he expects this to change over the next five years.
§ Mr. Rifkind[holding answer 20 July 1988] : At present there are about 1,300 computer work stations in the Scottish Office, excluding the minor departments and the Scottish prison service. This represents one work station for every five members of staff. This figure includes linked terminals and both linked and stand-alone microcomputers including those used for word processing but excludes portable text processors. Within the next five years the number of work stations may, on current evidence, rise to approximately 1,700—a ratio of one to every three staff.