§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what(a) regulations or (b) guidelines govern his Department's accounting system in respect of the allocation of payments for redundancies in the data processing occurring in contract year one of the accounts and allocated over other years; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Michael ForsythIt is assumed that this question relates to the contract with Sema Group plc awarded following the market test of Home Office administrative information technology services. The Home Office did not make any staff redundant as a consequence of this market test and the allocation of expenditure for such redundancies does not arise. All payments to the Sema Group in connection with this contract, including payments associated with their transitional and restructuring costs, will be allocated to the financial year in which the payments are made in accordance with the normal rules of Government cash accounting.