§ Mr. Laurence RobertsonTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement on the use of smart card technology in the Department and in the areas for which it is responsible; and what discussions he has had with private companies about the use of smart card technology within his Department. [50478]
§ Mr. WillsThe Lord Chancellor's Department has not made extensive use of smart card technology to date. Future plans for the delivery of electronic services are set out in our e-Business Strategy (www.lcd.gov.uk/ebus/stratcont.htm). This is accompanied by a supporting technical strategy for Information and Communications Technology (www.courtservice.gov.uk/info/reps/ictstrategy.pdf) which is fully compliant with central standards laid down by the Office of the e-Envoy. Smart cards are one of a large number of technologies discussed in this document and it is within this framework that any future deployment of smart cards will be delivered.