§ Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the maintenance charges are for the probation STEPS contract during normal working hours; what the call out charge is between 6 pm and 10 pm; what the charge is for a Saturday and a Sunday call out; what the charge is in relation to an office relocation; what assessment he has made of the value for money of the contract with Bull/Integris for these matters; and if he will make a statement. [66619]
§ Mr. Hilary Benn[holding answer 2 July 2002]: It is normal in contracts such as these for the information requested to be covered by commercial confidentiality clauses. However, recent press reports on this subject
1518Whave been so inaccurate and misleading that both the supplier and the National Probation Directorate felt it appropriate to correct some specific points.
The Standard Technical Environment for the Probation Service (STEPS) contract provides the foundation for the development of Information Technology (IT) in the probation service. Earlier this year it became one of the first contracts to pass through the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) Gateway process, set up to scrutinise Government contracts for value and purpose.
The core support hours for the contract are Monday–Friday from 8am to 6pm. The "maintenance charges" to extend these hours to provide full service cover for a whole office between 6 and 10 pm on a weeknight would be £2,661. On a Saturday the cost to support the entire network of 15,000 desktops across England and Wales would be £8,704. On a Sunday, the same cost would be £11,600. To deliver this service the supplier has to provide people on call around the country, responding to incidents and resolving problems. These costs would only be paid should this work be needed. To date, in the lifetime of this contract, it has not been. The cost to move a workstation would be £192. By any standards this contract represents good value for money.
§ Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the financial position of Bull/Integris was taken into account before the Standard Technical Environment for the Probation Service contract was let on 1 January; and if he will make a statement. [66618]
§ Mr. Hilary Benn[holding answer 2 July 2002]: The National Probation Directorate commissioned the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) to assess the financial position of Groupe Bull and it's subsidiary Bull Information Systems (including the business division Integris) prior to the shortlisting of service providers for the STEPS contracts.
After shortlisting and prior to award of the STEPS contracts, the National Probation Directorate commissioned a firm of forensic accountants to evaluate the financial risks regarding the sale of Integris by Bull Information Systems to Steria.
On-going financial checks will be carried out on Integris (now renamed as Steria following the change of ownership) throughout the life of the STEPS contracts.