§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Defence what web site his Department maintains on the Internet; what information is provided there; how often it is updated; what is the address; and if he or his Department answers questions and supplies additional information through the Internet. [7564]
§ Mr. ArbuthnotThe Ministry of Defence maintains an Internet world wide web site whose home page can be found at the Internet address www.mod.uk. Liaison with CCTA has ensured that the MOD home page is accessible via the Government information service WWW server at www.open.gov.uk.
Information made available includes MOD press releases, information about historic military buildings on the Defence estate, the UK MOD newsletter covering continuous acquisition and life-cycle support, summary biographies and pictures of MOD Ministers, recruitment information for the individual services, information on the Defence Intelligence Staff and Directorate General of Information and Communication Services, the Royal Corps of Signals and the Royal Navy in Plymouth. In addition, the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency has a number of web pages accessible from the MOD home page, which publicise topical items from the Defence research programme.
It is planned in the next six months to increase the number of MOD WWW pages to make further information available to the public, one example being the coverage of major defence policy speeches. The information presented is updated frequently as modifications are required.
The present address for e-mail inquiries is press office@dgics.mod.uk. This address is publicised on the MOD home page.
Future policy on the Internet is currently under review.