§ Ms. RuddockTo ask the Chairman of the Administration Committee if he will make a statement on the reasons for the decision to switch to Mercury Communications for telephone directory inquiries initiated from the House and its out-buildings; when this decision was taken; and by whom the decision was made.
§ Mr. Michael J. MartinIn May 1992 the House of Commons Commission agreed to the upgrading of the Palace of Westminster message taking and inquiry bureau and the installation of new, up-to-date software on the telephone exchange. This work was completed in April 1992.
More recently, least-cost routing software has been installed and a number of outgoing Mercury lines have been connected to the exchange. This means that all telephone calls are now automatically switched to the cheapest route by way of either the Government trunk network, British Telecom or Mercury Communications, or by a combination of these agencies' routes. This cost-effective routing system applies to all types of outgoing calls including those to the respective directory inquiry services.
The estimated savings in a full financial year from these measures are likely to exceed 20 per cent. of the 1990–91 telephone call expenditure.