§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office which company is running the HAZMOD Intranet (HI) project; how much has been spent on the project; when the project will go live; and if he will make a statement. [99381]
§ Mr. AlexanderThe HAZMOD Extranet (previously referred to as HAZMOD intranet) was a small pilot project, managed by a research group within the Home Office and subsequently the Cabinet Office, which investigated the access to maps by emergency planners and others using internet technology. The project lasted two and a half years and cost £175,000.
Recent analysis undertaken by the Cabinet Office showed that better and faster approaches to securing the same information are now available elsewhere and are already in use by a range of organisations. The Government therefore consider that it can best support local authority emergency planners through the provision of advice on the development of geographical information systems. Emergency planners at the local level will also continue to draw data from Police Commanders, who have direct access to information from central Government.
A letter explaining the position was sent on 24 February 2003 by the Cabinet Office to all the emergency planners involved in the project. The letter was also published on the UK Resilience website www.ukresilience.info.