§ 6. Mr. Ian BruceTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what investment is being made in the United Kingdom into telecommunications and information super-highway infrastructures; and what proportion of this has been provided by new entrants to the market. [13508]
§ Mr. LangAnnual investment in the telecommunications infrastructure in the United Kingdom is running at around £5.5 billion per year, with about half of this coming from operators other than BT. Much of this is in broadband networks which form the backbone to the information super-highways being built in this country.
§ 35. Mr. MillerTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the availability to other Departments of spare information technology resources in his Department. [13540]
Mr. John M. TaylorSpare IT equipment is disposed of in the most cost-effective manner. At present, the vast majority of such equipment is obsolescent and therefore of little long-term value to other Departments. Typically, such equipment is traded in against the provision of new equipment currently being installed as part of my Department's office automation infrastructure.