§ Dr. KumarTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many computers were replaced in his Department in each of the past three years; how the replaced units were disposed of and by which companies; and at what cost. [60734]
§ Ruth KellyIn the financial years 1999–2000. 2000–01 and 2001–02, HM Treasury replaced about 1,000 desktop computers.
Treasury attempts to sell off its redundant IT equipment wherever possible. The following details the sales over the last three years.
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Year/company Value of sales (£) 1999–2000 Computers for U Ltd. (now CFU Ltd.) 26,000 Logstat Computer Services 8,500 London Computer Auctions 8,000 RD Computers 6,000 OCM Business Systems 3,000 Technologic LSI (Europe) Ltd. 1,000 2000–01 Computers for U Ltd. (now CFU Ltd.) 8,500 JB Computer Brokerage 7,500
Year/company Value of sales (£) 2001–02 CFU Ltd. 5,000 JB Computer Brokerage 500 Over the last three years the numbers of HMCE PC and laptop replacements were as follows:
Year ended Replacements 31 March 2000 1,850 31 March 2001 3,611 31 March 2002 16,395 Prior to 31 March 2000 disposals were at local management discretion. A national scheme was established whereby charities in each region were invited to request replaced equipment and collect it at their own expense. Unusable equipment was discarded. Security and environmental factors were taken into consideration at all times. The cost incurred in disposal was minimal and related mainly to the time of the departmental staff involved.
On 31 March 2000 ownership of HMCE desktop and laptop computers passed to ICL (now Fujitsu Services) under a PFI contract. The contracted service charge covers replacement and disposal costs as well as provision of the day to day services. Fujitsu Services operate a Second Time Around Replacement (STAR) system, whereby renovated equipment is deployed as far as economically possible to reduce costs. During 1999, the Inland Revenue replaced all its PCs, laptops, servers and printers under a major programme known as Infrastructure 2000 (i2K). The aims of the programme were to introduce a common, market-centred infrastructure platform and to meet Year 2000 security requirements. Some 60,000 terminals were installed during this period (the largest NT installation in Europe at the time). Under i2K, a large percentage of the Department's existing IT kit was upgraded, refurbished and redeveloped as part of the deals negotiated with equipment suppliers. Because of this and the massive scale of the i2K programme (cost over £200 million), specific costs on disposal of individual items for the financial year 1999–2000 would be available only at disproportionate cost.
Since the successful delivery of i2K, the Department has operated a rolling programme of replacing IT kit. During the last two financial years, we have replaced the following numbers of PCs:
- 2000–01: 4,957
- 2001–02: 23,297.
During this period, the Department has employed RD Computers Ltd. and DataServ-CES to dispose of IT equipment. The cost of disposals was:
- 2000–01: pound;55,158
- 2001–02: £199,751.
However, income from sales of redundant IT kit during the same period were:
- 2000–01: £204.886
- 2001–02: £635,758.