§ Mr. David ShawTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans his Department has(a) to utilise the Internet, (b) to make available on the Internet press releases and other departmental information which the public may wish to have access to and (c) to use the Internet as a means of increasing the openness of his Department.
§ Mr. HagueThe Department's press releases issued electronically through the Central Office of Information are accessible to users of the Internet via Data-Star Dialog (Europe) or Mead/Lexis/Nexis. They are also available to subscribers to FT Profile, Reuters Textline and to POLIS.
The Department's press releases are also made available through the COI's fax retrieval service, details of which can be provided by their news distribution service.
There are no immediate plans to use the Internet. However, this Department is currently undertaking a review of its telecommunications requirements. This includes an evaluation of the services which are available, including Internet, to decide on the most suitable networks to meet its future requirements.