HC Deb 18 September 2003 vol 410 cc884-5W
Norman Lamb

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was paid to Microsoft in licensing fees by his Department and its agencies in each of the last three years; and how much has been budgeted for(a) 2003–04 and (b) 2004–05. [130682]

Mr. McNulty

Since 2000 there have been two Machinery of Government changes affecting what is now the Department of Transport. As a result the number of staff has changed considerably. It is not possible to analyse the total cost of licensing to identify where the costs were incurred on behalf of what is now DfT. Therefore the figures given for DfT(c) reflect spend by the Department as it was at the time.

The amount paid to Microsoft for the last three years is:

Spend (£)
Organisation 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03
Centre of the Department
DETR 171,300
DTLR 198,400
DfT 307,500

Spend (£)
Organisation 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency n/a 459,900 489,400
Driving Standards Agency 7,900 over two years 81,000
Highways Agency 640,000 580,000 175,000
Maritime and Coastguard Agency 0 0 291,000
Vehicle Certification Agency 3,170 3,260 9,380
Vehicle and Operator Services Agency
(Previously Vehicle Inspectorate and
Traffic Area Network) 100,000 100,000 136,400

Budgets for spend in the current year, 2003–04, and future years are withheld on the grounds of commercial confidentiality.

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