§ Mr. John TaylorTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will make a statement about the initial performance of the 1901 Census website. [29899]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonThe 1901 Census website was successfully piloted and tested in advance of its launch on 2 January 2002. Based on benchmarking, the 1901 site was specified to allow for 1 million users, with provision to cope with peak equivalent demand of 1.2 million users, in any 24-hour period. Prior to the site being closed on 7 January 2002 to enable enhancements to be carried out, it was estimated by the PRO's business partner QinetiQ Ltd., who are responsible for the technical aspects of the service, that the maximum demand it experienced was approximately 1.2 million users per hour. This prevented many users accessing the service. A decision to close the website temporarily to general internet access was taken by the PRO and QinetiQ Ltd. in order to allow enhancements to be made. The general internet service will be restored incrementally, on completion of this work.
The online service is currently available at the Public Record Office at Kew, the Family Records Centre in Islington, and at a number of local public libraries and archives while the enhancements are being carried out. Meanwhile, the Public Record Office has fulfilled its statutory obligations by providing microform copies of the 1901 Census returns at the Public Record Office at Kew and at local record offices and public libraries across the country.
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