§ Mr. DonohoeTo aks the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment has been made as to the additional costs which will be incurred by his Department as a result of the changes in national telephone dialling codes next year; and how much this change will cost his Department in additional expenditure.
§ Mr. LangMost of the changes to my Department's telecommunications' networks have been carried out free of charge by the companies responsible for maintaining our telephone systems. At one site a charge of £ 1,000 was incurred.
It is not possible to give an estimate of the cost of alternations to items of stationery, but because the changes were publicised widely well in advance it has been possible in many cases to incorporate the new codes when placing routine orders for new stationery. Some staff time has been or will be devoted to reprogramming fax machines etc.