§ Norman LambTo ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much was paid to Microsoft in licensing fees by the Cabinet Office and its agencies in each of the last three years; and how much has been budgeted for(a) 2003–04 and (b) 2004–05. [130670]
§ Mr. AlexanderMy Department's accounting systems do not capture comprehensive information on expenditure on specific types of software licences. Expenditure1 on Microsoft licensing fees that can be identified is as follows:
£ 2000–01 3,456,829 2001–02 392,719 2002–03 459,464 In 2000–01, £3.3 million of expenditure related to the purchase of microsoft licences in connection with the Government Gateway project. The Government Gateway is an IT infrastructure which was developed as part of the strategy for delivering electronic Government. It enables electronic transactions between Government, citizens and businesses in a secure, customer-focused and joined-up way.
Detailed information on budgets for the purchase of Microsoft software in 2003–04 and 2004–05 is not available.
1 Figures exclude licences purchased on behalf of the Cabinet Office by IT service providers.