§ Mr. VazTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how many(a) portable telephones, (b) pagers and electronic bleepers and (c) car telephones are currently used by his Department; what are the annual costs of operating this equipment; and to which personnel it is made available.
§ Mr. EggarRecords are no longer kept centrally of all uses of mobile telephones, pagers and electronic bleepers. However it is estimated that excluding "next steps" agencies there are some 700 mobile telephones and 480 pagers/bleepers in use in my Department at costs of around £280,000 and £65,000 per annum respectively.
This equipment is in use where the costs can be shown to be justified by improvements in efficiency and effectiveness. This covers a wide range of personnel.