§ Mr. Nicholas BennettTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for which privatisation share issue the first computer program to identify multiple share applications was designed; whether it has been purchased by his Department for use in conjunction with subsequent flotations; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Norman Lamont[holding answer 25 July 1988]: The Government place a high priority on detecting multiple applications in privatisation sales. Methods of detection are a matter for the fraud auditors appointed for each sale, but computers have been used as an aid to detection in every sale since the British Gas sale in 1986 and we would expect them to be used in future sales. Different programmes are used in each sale, as the methods of collecting applications and techniques of detection change. Innovation in computer programmes to improve detection of multiple applicants is one of the criteria in the selection of fraud auditors.