§ Mr. GapesTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to modernise his Department's communications systems. [121806]
§ Mr. Robin CookThe Foreign and Commonwealth Office will today sign a contract with Global Crossing to provide a new telecommunications network and associated telecommunications services. The contract has been negotiated as part of the Private Finance Initiative, and will run for a 10 year period. The projected Net Present Value of the contract is £106 million. The total cost of the contract over the 10 year period is projected at £165 million.