§ Mr. FavellTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has for the staffing of his Department's new computer centre in Livingston.
§ Mr. MooreThe area computer centre at Livingston is the first of three new, purpose-built computer centres which will handle the payment of income support and pension claims. In accordance with the Government's policy of testing the market, I have examined whether the centre could better be operated by my Department along the lines of its other major computer installations, or by the private sector on my behalf.
The examination has taken account of a range of considerations including the need to provide a secure 437W service to the public, the benefits to be gained from introducing competitive pressure into the Department's operations and the value of having a predictable cost profile over future years.
On the basis of an evaluation of competitive tenders, I have concluded that the advantage lies with contracting out the operation of the centre and I intend to award a contract to Electronic Data Systems, a company with extensive experience of setting up and running operations 438W involving the production of large volumes of secure items. The contract will run for five years. The company will work under the supervision and direction of the Department's information technology services directorate and will be subject to strict control and monitoring to ensure adherence to the statutory requirements for the protection of information supplied by claimants and to the agreed standards of service.