Written question asked by Brian White (Labour) on Friday, 29 October 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 9 November 2004. It was answered by Alun Michael (Labour) on Tuesday, 9 November 2004 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what percentage of the Department's (a) implemented and (b) planned computer systems use open source software; and what plans are in place to raise this level.

Answer: Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of the Department's (a) implemented and (b) planned computer systems use open source software; and what plans are in place to raise this level. [195657] Alun Michael: The information is as follows: (a) The percentage of implemented computer systems in Defra that use open source operating systems such as Linux is small, less than 5 per cent., but many Defra systems comply with the Government eGIF standards that allow easy and open exchange of data. (b) Defra has recently outsourced its IT operations. There are no targets imposed on the supplier to implement open source software, a level playing field will apply in procurement of software solutions. The IT supplier is bound to work within eGIF standards and many of the planed IT systems will include a significant proportion of open source code. In addition the supplier will be conducting a number of additional pieces of work to test the business benefits to Defra of extending the use of open source.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 195657; 426 c578-9W
Session: 2003-04
Subjects: Software Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs ICT Government departments Procurement
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk