§ Mr. FieldTo ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if she will list (1) the IT projects currently undertaken in her Department; and if she will state the(a) expected completion date and (b) cost of each project; [151504]
(2) the IT projects her Department plans to undertake in the next year; and if she will state in each case the (a) expected date of commencement and completion and (b) cost. [151468]
§ Mr. Ian McCartney[pursuant to his reply, 26 February 2001, c. 495-96W]: IT projects currently being undertaken by the Cabinet Office are as follows:
Ukonline.gov.uk citizen portal
In July 2000 the Cabinet Office awarded a contract to BT (British Telecommunications plc) to build and operate the Ukonline.gov.uk citizen portal, for one year (until July 2001). This initial development phase is expected to cost around £10 million, of which around £4 million has been spent so far. We are currently considering the longer-term arrangements for operating the site.Government Gateway
In October 2000 the Cabinet Office began working with a group of suppliers including Microsoft and Cable and Wireless to deliver the initial phase of the Government Gateway. The initial phase of delivery will be complete by June 2001 and will have cost around £18 million.Knowledge Network
The cost to the Government of the new Knowledge Network system has been £3.6 million (GRP) to date.The initial development phase of both the ukonline.gov.uk citizen portal and the Government Gateway projects will continue into the next financial 771W year, ending in July and June 2001 respectively. Both projects are part of the long-term strategy for delivering electronic government, and the Cabinet Office has applied for CMF funding to enable both projects to continue beyond these dates. The value of this work will depend upon which aspects of each project are selected for development during the next phase.
The Knowledge Network project, which is expected to be completed in August 2002, is expected to cost up to £15 million.