§ Mr. ChisholmTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps have been taken to assess customer satisfaction with the performance of the company CSC; and what conclusions he has drawn from these assessments. [37375]
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonUnder the terms of the contract with Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) Ltd. the Common Services Agency of the NHS in Scotland provides a contract management service which includes, as a prime task, continuous assessment of CSC performance and customer satisfaction. This has been achieved through a combination of correspondence, meetings of groups of representatives of the health boards and trusts and by customer satisfaction surveys.
From this survey work, it is clear that the CSC service has taken time to bed in over a period in which it has had to carry out a major reorganisation, concentrating now on two sites—reduced from six—in Scotland. However, a firm implementation plan is now in place and this is being closely monitored by both sides to ensure that the standard of service delivery continues to improve. There are welcome signs of improvement, a fact acknowledged by customers. It is expected that the level of satisfaction will 684W continue to rise and that the provisions of the contract will be met.
§ Mr. ChisholmTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what savings were predicted to accrue from market testing of the computing services in the NHS in Scotland during the first year of the contract with the successful bidder CSC; and what savings are now projected for the first year of the contract. [37374]
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe contract with CSC for central computing and IT services agreed for the first year that a static price would be set for the first six months on the basis of current price for current usage. Thereafter, a saving of 5 per cent. would be expected over the second six months. Expected revenue to CSC for the year was estimated to be £16 million and, therefore, expected savings were in the order of £800,000. From April to June 1996, a saving of £220,000 has been made against a revenue of £4.2 million. This represents a saving of 5 per cent. These are unaudited figures.