§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
What penalties there are in the £70 million contract with Siemens Business Systems for computer systems at the Immigration and Nationality Department for late delivery and failure to meet specifications; and when it is expected that the system will be fully operative. [HL1629]
§ Lord Williams of MostynThe Immigration and Nationality Directorate's (IND's) casework programme is a private finance initiative project and over 90 per cent. of the payments to the supplier, Siemens Business Services, are linked to the successful delivery of key elements of the programme, including the computer system, and to improvements in IND's productivity. If the expected benefits are not achieved the payments to the supplier fall below the target in the contract. The delay in delivering the programme and the computer system means that Siemens Business Services has received less income. The current plan is for the computer system to be available to IND for testing in June 1999 and to be rolled out throughout the latter part of 1999, leading to a fully operative system early in 2000.