HC Deb 19 October 1989 vol 158 cc223-4W
Mr. Warren

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many officials in his Department at grade 3 and above have, since promotion to the level of grade 3, attended a course(a) specifically on information technology and (b) containing an element of information technology; and what percentage each represents of all the staff in those grades in his Department.

Mr. Cope

The number of staff at grade 3 and above in Northern Ireland Office and Northern Ireland Departments who, since promotion to grade 3, have attended a course specifically on information technology is 14; and the number who have attended a course containing an element of information technology is five. These figures represent 28 per cent. and 10 per cent. respectively of the total number of staff in these grades.

Mr. Warren

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many work stations excluding stand-alone word processors are currently installed in his Department; and what is the ratio of such work stations to civil servants.

Mr. Cope

The number of work stations, excluding stand-alone word processors, in the Northern Ireland Office and Northern Ireland Departments is 3,670. The ratio of work stations to non-industrial civil servants is 1:5.6.

Mr. Warren

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which Minister in his Department is responsible for day-to-day management of his Department's information technology strategy; and what proportion of his time was spent on this matter in the month up to Friday 13 October.

Mr. Cope

While each Minister has departmental responsibilities which include information technology, I have specific responsibility for the Northern Ireland service-wide aspects of the Government's information technology strategy which are co-ordinated by the Department of Finance and Personnel.

A detailed record is not maintained of the time that I spend on my various responsibilities.