§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Solicitor-General if she will list, for 1997–98 and for each subsequent financial year, the amount spent(a) in the United Kingdom and (b) abroad by (i) her Department, (ii) its agencies and (iii) its non-departmental public bodies on (1) providing mobile telephone equipment, including handsets and other associated equipment, (2) telephone calls made using such equipment and (3) telephone calls made using privately owned mobile telephones but subsequently reclaimed by (x) Ministers and (y) staff. [34408]
§ The Solicitor-General[holding answer 11 February 2002]: The expenditure by my own Department, the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers, is as follows:
£ 1997–98 2,667.82 1998–99 3,213.09 1999–2000 2,843.69 2000–01 2,419.43 Current records do not distinguish the cost of calls made in the United Kingdom and abroad but the latter cost would be de minimis. Current records do not distinguish the cost of equipment and the cost of calls. There is no separate coding for reimbursement of costs of calls made from privately owned equipment but such expenditure would be de minimis.The Crown Prosecution Service has only provided mobile telephones and other associated equipment to its staff in the United Kingdom. The amount spent for 1997–98 and each subsequent financial year is:
1115W
£ Equipment Telephone calls 1997–98 — — 1998–99 1,000 — 1999–2000 96,000 9,000 2000–01 38,000 30,000 Reclaimed costs for calls made on privately owned mobile telephones are not recorded separately.
The expenditure on mobile telephone equipment and calls by the Treasury Solicitor's Department and Government property lawyers was as follows:
£ TSD GPL 1997–98 9,605.33 — 1998–99 8,443.21 2,069.28 1999–2000 9,513.81 720.04 2000–01 11,818.41 14.06 Current records do not distinguish the cost of equipment and the cost of calls. There is no separate coding for reimbursement of costs of calls made from privately owned equipment but such expenditure would be de minimis.
No equipment was purchased abroad but the figures given may include call charges incurred abroad.
The Serious Fraud Office makes available mobile telephone equipment for business use on a loan and permanent allocation basis to SFO staff. Financial information is available on the amounts spent providing this service but not to the level of detail requested. This would be available only at disproportionate cost.
£ Equipment Calls 1997–98 9,258.37 2,611.92 1998–99 3,652.42 826.31 1999–2000 3,559.03 3,090.59 2000–01 3,352.45 3,889.07 Information on the split between the United Kingdom and abroad would be available only at disproportionate cost. Information about amounts reclaimed by staff, which is minimal, would be available only at disproportionate cost.