§ Matthew Taylor:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place a progress report on the Customs and Excise electronic self-service facilities for current internal based administrative processes in the Library; and if he will make a statement. [74781]
§ John HealeyAs part of their e-Business programme to modernise the way the Department delivers its business, Customs are in the process of procuring a commercial off-the-shelf HR package to deliver electronic self-service facilities for their current HR administrative processes.
The Proof of Concept (PoC) phase of the procurement exercise started on 2 September 2002 and will last for three months. This will ensure that the proposed system will meet their HR requirements.
If the outcome is successful, Customs expect to award contracts in early 2003 when an Office of Government Commerce Gateway Review to confirm the investment decision is also planned. Subject to this, the first phase of development can then commence. Implementation is likely to take a minimum of two years.