Written question asked by Marquess of Lothian (Conservative) on Tuesday, 29 April 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 7 May 2003. It was answered by Jack Straw (Labour) on Wednesday, 7 May 2003 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much money allocated to the Focus programme was irretrievable; whether penalties were imposed by Fujitsu as a result of the cancellation of the contract; and why it took as long as it did to cancel the programme once it became clear that it was no longer required. - Inc figure.

Answer: Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much money allocated to the Focus programme was irretrievable; whether penalties were imposed by Fujitsu as a result of the cancellation of the contract; and why it took as long as it did to cancel the programme once it became clear that it was no longer required. [111230] Mr. Straw: At the point of cancellation the FCO had spent £9.5 million on the Focus programme, including internal costs, supplier costs, hardware and software. Of this we will retain assets of £2.5 million. We were able to reach a mutually acceptable settlement with Fujitsu. The issue was not that the programme was no longer required but rather that it was no longer affordable. Once the decision to cancel had been taken, we moved quickly to negotiate an agreement with Fujitsu to close the programme.

Secondary information