§ Dr. Julian LewisTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the PA Consultancy has been asked to recommend whether his Department should(a) continue with its current timetable for the awarding of the planned PFI contract for providing information technology services, (b) award the contract several months earlier than currently proposed or (c) discontinue the PFI. [29389]
§ Mr. Straw[holding answer 13 February 1998): Given the speed of change in information technology (IT), the Home Office will continue to keep under review the options for taking forward its IT projects. PA Consulting has been commissioned to examine the interface between 467W the planned Private Finance Initiative procurement, the Department's Year 2000 compliance projects, and other planned upgrades of office systems. It is too early to say whether this work will lead to changes in current plans.