§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the tendering for the new ACCORD—access to corporate data—information technology system. [10512]
§ Mr. BurtThe ACCORD project is intended to deliver, through the private finance initiative, a set of services to support the Department's information systems—information technology strategy.
409WA notice was placed in the supplement to the Official Journal of the European Communities on 7 August 1996. A statement of requirement was issued on 2 October to which six responses were received. Following an evaluation of these responses, an announcement was made on 12 December that three bidders would be taken forward to the next stage.
Following a period of consultation lasting several months, tenders will be invited.