§ Mr. VazTo ask the Attorney-General 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.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThe departments for which I am responsible—the Treasury Solicitor's Department, the Crown Prosecution Service, the Serious Fraud Office and the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers—currently have in use 111 portable telephones, 105 pagers and electronic bleepers and six car telephones. The aggregate annual operating costs of this equipment including the cost of telephone calls are £78,900. Equipment is issued to Ministers and key personnel who may need to be contacted urgently.