Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Harrison (Labour). It was answered on Thursday, 8 April 2010.

Government Information Communication Technology Projects

Question: I recently received a letter from the NHS asking me to acknowledge that information about myself will be able to be made available through the new technology, should I have any accident throughout the United Kingdom. But will my noble friend indeed use the government information and communication technology to communicate to the wider public and Members on the Benches opposite just how many successful government projects have come in either on-budget or under-budget in the past 13 years?

Answer: My noble friend makes a very good point on the NHS. Patients are directly benefiting from the modernisation of NHS IT, including the ability to book their first outpatient appointment through Choose and Book, new digital X-rays, and the electronic transfer of GP records. My noble friend asked whether there were any successful IT projects. Twenty million people renew their car tax discs online each year at a convenient time for them. I am told that 6,000 people do it on Christmas Day. For business access there is businesslink.gov.uk which helps businesses to increase their profits by millions of pounds and make additional sales by hundreds of millions. People can now apply to receive free school meals in hours, not weeks; they can book their driving tests; they can claim carer’s allowance and legal aid; and they can even become national blood donors. What would Tony Hancock have thought?

Secondary information