§ Earl Attleeasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Ministry of Defence has let the information technology contract, JAMES 1; and, if so, what are the expected costs and benefits. [HL4287] [HL4322]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Bach)A contract was signed on 15 July 2004, with Lockheed Martin for the first increment of the Joint Asset Management and Engineering Solution (JAMES 1).
The main benefit is that JAMES will enable the maintenance of operational capability during and following the reduction in land vehicle fleet sizes which will occur with the introduction of new equipment and of technical upgrades to existing equipment. Failure to 107WA manage these fleets centrally though a management information system such as JAMES would lead either to a reduction of training capability or the need to acquire more equipment.
The expected full cost (including costed risks) will be £40 million over six years. The expected benefits over the same period amount to £94 million.