§ Lord Marlesfordasked the Chairman of Committees:
What has been the total cost to date, split between software, hardware and other expenditure, of the Parliamentary Data and Video Network and whether he will indicate the total number of persons who now have access to it showing separately the number of Members of each House.
§ The Chairman of CommitteesThe Parliamentary Video and Data Network has been created within the life of the present Parliament. It is funded according to a rolling programme of expansion and stabilisation which will last into the next century. The amount spent is primarily a matter for the House of Commons which has provided most of the funding to date. The current number of user accounts on the PDVN is 1,742, of which 75 have been requested by Members of the House of Lords.
§ Lord Marlesfordasked the Chairman of Committees:
Whether he will list the number of occasions this year that remote access to the Parliamentary Data and Video Network has not been possible due to faults with the system, indicating in respect of each such occasion the period for which there was no access; what is the target that has been set for the proportion of time for which access should be possible; by when the target should be met and what steps are being taken to meet it.
§ The Chairman of CommitteesInstances of system failure causing remote access to be unavailable have 9WA been approximately three per month since the start of this calendar year. Three such incidents are believed to have happened at weekends and caused periods of non-availability of 1–2 days; the rest resulted in non-availability typically of 1–2 hours. All incidents were due to interruptions to electrical power supply. Targets have not been formally agreed for availability of remote access. Steps being taken to improve the availability of remote access include:
- (a) extension of the network to eliminate single points of failure;
- (b) continuing improvement of the stability of the whole network;
- (c) recent agreement in principle to authorise the Communications Directorate to extend hours of cover by the help desk and engineering support; and
- (d) evaluation of a replacement for the current, outmoded remote access software.
§ Lord Marlesfordasked the Chairman of Committees:
Whether he is satisfied that the Parliamentary Data and Video Network project has provided good value for public money.
§ The Chairman of CommitteesThe Parliamentary Data and Video Network is becoming an essential part of the infrastructure of both Houses of Parliament. The network is still incomplete and a programme of investment to stabilise and improve it is in progress. The question of value for money is primarily for the House of Commons, which has provided most of the funding to date.
§ Lord Marlesfordasked the Chairman of Committees:
Whether he will make arrangements for a duty engineer to be available at weekends to deal with faults which deny access by users to the Parliamentary Data and Video Network.
§ The Chairman of CommitteesThe Library and Computers Sub-Committee has agreed that users of the Parliamentary Data and Video Network should have help desk cover, including engineering help, at weekends. The exact hours of cover are under discussion with the authorities in the House of Commons.
§ Lord Marlesfordasked the Chairman of Committees:
Whether he will arrange for the appropriate committee to report to the House on the performance of the Parliamentary Data and Video Network.
§ The Chairman of CommitteesThe Parliamentary Data and Video Network is a joint responsibility of the two Houses. The Library and Computers Sub-Committee is responsible for monitoring the performance of the network, in so far as the interests of Lords are concerned and reports to the Offices10WA Committee which in turn reports to the House, when appropriate.