HL Deb 29 October 1998 vol 593 c220WA
Lord Avebury

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether the review of the Prison Service's Quantum Project has been completed and what action has been taken thereon: whether they will publish the reports on the information system consultancy, for which £5 million had already been paid when the project was suspended: and what controls were used in accordance with CCTA and government accounting guidelines to ensure that value for money was obtained. [HL3518]

Lord Williams of Mostyn

The review of the Quantum project announced by the Director General of the Prison Service on 10 August should take up to six months to complete. Any action will depend upon the outcome of the review. Consultants were employed to facilitate the management of the project, but the papers relating to them contain commercially and legally sensitive material and cannot therefore be made available publicly. The Director General has established an internal inquiry to consider specifically lessons to be learned from the management of the project before 10 August.