HC Deb 14 December 1999 vol 341 c114W
Mr. Cousins

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will place in the Library the documentation on the(a) business objectives, (b) rollout timetable, (c) costs and (d) partners of the Horizon project; and if the costs of implementation will be met by Her Majesty's Treasury or the Post Office. [101379]

Mr. Alan Johnson

The information requested is as follows.

  1. (a) The objective of the revised Horizon project announced on 24 May this year, which will equip all post offices with a modem on-line electronic IT platform, is to enable Post Office Counters Ltd. to modernise existing services and attract new business to secure a viable future for the network as a whole.
  2. (b) The Post Office plans to complete the rollout of the Horizon platform to all post offices throughout the UK by the spring of 2001. 1,856 offices have so far been automated.
  3. (c) The revised Horizon project is expected to cost around £1 billion over the five year period to 2005.
  4. (d) The contract is between Post Office Counters Ltd. and ICL Pathway.
  5. (e) The Government have agreed to contribute £480 million towards the capital costs of the project. The remainder will be funded by the Post Office.
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