§ Mr. WarrenTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services 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. Portillo[holding answer 28 June]: At present there are about 8,000 computer work stations in the Department 267W which represents one for every 12 members of staff. This figure includes linked terminals and stand-alone microcomputers, but excludes word processors and portable text processors. Within the next five years the operational strategy for social security, linking all our local offices to mainframe computers, will be fully implemented. By 1993 the Department will, on current plans, have approximately 40,000 work stations—a ratio of one to every two staff.