§ Mr. KeenTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the estimated savings to public funds accruing from the Military Survey Defence Agency element of the defence intelligence staff "Competing for Quality" proposal for information systems—information technology and open source information services; and what impact these measures will have on the efficiency of the Military Survey Defence Agency. [19366]
§ Mr. SoamesThis is a matter for the chief executive of the Military Survey Defence Agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Philip Wildman to Mr. Alan Keen, dated 13 March 1997
I am replying to your Question to the Secretary of State for Defence about the Military Survey Defence Agency element of the Defence Intelligence Staff (DIS) Competing For Quality (CFQ) proposal for IS/IT and Open Source Information (OSINF) services, as this matter falls within my area of responsibility as Chief Executive.During last year the DIS conducted a CFQ Feasibility Study with involvement from the business areas affected by the CFQ initiative to examine the extent to which IS/IT, OSINF services together with Media Services and Printing could be exposed to competition with the private sector. It concluded that MOD should seek to test through competition whether improved Value For Money (VFM) can be obtained by contractorising a defined package of these services. The Feasibility Study recommendations have been accepted by Ministers and the project is to be taken forward, and will be subject to the normal consultation process. The invitation to companies to provide proposals is scheduled to be issued by mid summer. Consequently at this stage, it would be premature to assess the level of savings and 335W efficiencies that may result. However, if a competitive procurement cannot show better Value For Money (VFM), then the DIS and Military Survey will not proceed with the initiative.