HC Deb 07 March 2003 vol 400 c1300W
Mr. Swayne

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what IT contracts have been available to Electronic Data Services in respect of work on behalf of the prison service; and if he will make a statement. [99663]

Hilary Benn

The Prison Service outsourced its Information Technology (IT) to Electronic Data Systems (EDS) with effect from 1 July 2000. Under the terms of the 12 year Agreement EDS is responsible for implementing a modern IT and telecommunications infrastructure. The contract also contains provision for IT enabled business change but any such projects are not guaranteed to EDS under its terms. The contract was awarded, following competitive tender, in February 2000.