Written question asked by David Gauke (Conservative) on Monday, 22 January 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 24 January 2007. It was answered by Pat McFadden (Labour) on Friday, 26 January 2007 on behalf of the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

Open Source Software

Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what percentage of her Department’s computer systems use open source software; what percentage of the systems planned to be installed use such software; and whether she plans to increase the use of open source software in her Department.

Answer: Information on the current and future use of open source software in my department, which would be required to calculate percentages against proprietary software, is not held centrally and cannot be collected except at disproportionate cost.The Cabinet Office follows the Government’s Open Source Software (OSS) Policy (Version 2 was published on the 28 October 2004), which requires that Government consider OSS solutions alongside proprietary ones in IT procurements, and awards contracts on a value for money basis. It does not therefore have plans in place to raise the level of OSS use, but rather will make software procurement decisions on a case-by-case basis.

Secondary information