Written question asked by Brooks Newmark (Conservative) on Thursday, 25 January 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 29 January 2007. It was answered by Liam Byrne (Labour) on Monday, 5 February 2007 on behalf of the Home Office.

Departmental Expenditure

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department spent on buying, operating and supporting (a) all commercial software products and (b) software products produced by Microsoft in each of the last three years.

Answer: The choice of software to meet the business needs of the Home Office now largely rests with its strategic IST suppliers who are contracted, largely under the Private Finance Initiative (and PPP arrangements), to meet business requirements and provide value for money solutions. In the main, the Home Office no longer chooses specific software. This factor, combined with the large number of computer systems operated by the Department prevent us from providing total expenditure figures for commercial software products.Within our business requirements the Home Office ensures that any technical choices should meet relevant government software standards and provide for interoperability with our public and business partners.

Secondary information