§ Mr. Edward DaveyTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will publish the tender specification prepared by the Public Record Office for contracting process for the design and build of the website for the 1901 Census online; and if she will make a statement. [26804]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonThe PRO placed a notice in theOfficial Journal of the European Communities (OJEC), seeking expressions of interest, on 6 November 1998.
§ Mr. Edward DaveyTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when the website for the 1901 Census will next be available for normal public access. [26802]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonThe online service for the 1901 Census is available at the Family Records Centre in Islington, at the Kew site of the Public Record Office, and at a number of local public library and archive services. The website was temporarily closed to general internet access on 7 January 2002 so that enhancements could be introduced. General internet access will be re-introduced gradually as these enhancements are achieved.
§ Mr. Edward DaveyTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what consultations took place between QinetiQ and professional genealogists in the process of designing and building the website for the 1901 Census. [26806]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonIn order to take full account of user views in the development of the 1901 Census website, the Public Record Office set up an Advisory Panel, which comprised professional genealogists and representatives of the main user groups, as well as staff from QinetiQ Ltd. The panel provided valuable feedback both on the pilot project relating to the 1891 Census for the county of Norfolk, which ran from May to the end of July 2001, and in the run-up to the launch of the 1901 online service.
§ Mr. Edward DaveyTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what consultations took place between the Public Record Office and professional174W genealogists in the preparation of the tender specification for the design and build of the website for the 1901 Census. [26805]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonThe Public Record Office consulted on a regular basis regular basis with professional genealogists and other family history user groups as it prepared the tender specification. The final specification incorporated suggestions from these groups.
§ Mr. Edward DaveyTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what representations the Public Record Office received on the proposal for and construction of the website for the 1901 Census. [26807]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonThe Public Record Office consulted widely about, and received many comments on, the proposal for the 1901 Census online service. An Advisory Panel, comprising all the main user groups, met on 10 occasions and provided valuable feedback on the online pilot project relating to the 1891 Census for the County of Norfolk, concerning which over 2,000 responses were received. Many of these suggestions were incorporated into the final design for the 1901 Census online service. PRO staff also attended numerous family history fairs in the UK to seek the views of family historians.