HC Deb 25 March 2002 vol 382 cc621-2W
Simon Hughes

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what proportion of the children's guardians who work for CAFCASS have been allowed to access the CAFCASS IT system; and if she will make a statement. [46011]

Ms Rosie Winterton

The CAFCASS IT system is available to all office-based employed guardians but not yet to newly employed home-based guardians who accepted an offer of employment last summer.

Simon Hughes

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what the estimated date is for CAFCASS to be 'e' ready in line with targets set for public bodies; and if she will make a statement. [46013]

Ms Rosie Winterton

The CAFCASS Corporate Plan states that CAFCASS is contributing to the 'e' Government agenda through increased capacity, where appropriate, for services to be delivered by electronic means by 2005. CAFCASS is developing an IT infrastructure which facilitates efficient and effective exchange of information between agencies in the family justice system.

Simon Hughes

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what frequency of board meetings the CAFCASS Support Infrastructure Project Initiation document specifies; and on how many occasions the board met between July 2001 and January 2002. [46009]

Ms Rosie Winterton

The Support Infrastructure Project Initiation document did not specifically state a frequency of meeting, nor is a specific frequency mandated in the PRINCE2 manual. The Support Infrastructure Project did not meet after July 2001 as the project was put on hold.

Simon Hughes

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if the CAFCASS IT system has database facilities installed; and if she will make a statement. [46012]

Ms Rosie Winterton

CAFCASS inherited systems with database facilities. The CAFCASS IT system continues to support and extend these databases. The recent Magistrates Courts Service Inspectorate (MCSI) report said that IT investment across CAFCASS was, in general, a success story once initial teething problems had been addressed.