To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent assessment he has made of Government policy on open source software and open standards; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent assessment he has made of Government policy on open source software and open standards; and if he will make a statement.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Weir. I congratulate the hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South (Bridget Phillipson) on having started an important debate on an important theme. She will understand that I cannot comment on the situation in the north-east, so I shall concentrate...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Weir. I congratulate the hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South (Bridget Phillipson) on having started an important debate on an important theme. She will understand that I cannot comment on the situation in the north-east, so I shall concentrate...

The second answer that the hon. Gentleman was provided with seems to possess greater clarity than the first, because the first is, I guess, contestable. We can have a long discussion about how we can and cannot target breaks. A rational argument can quite decently be made that the software...

The second answer that the hon. Gentleman was provided with seems to possess greater clarity than the first, because the first is, I guess, contestable. We can have a long discussion about how we can and cannot target breaks. A rational argument can quite decently be made that the software...

I am not party to the discussions that have led to that change. Clearly, there were opportunities for previous Governments to do precisely that. The opportunities for the British software industry are huge. The Government just need to make the right move. Some of the right moves are plain and...

I am not party to the discussions that have led to that change. Clearly, there were opportunities for previous Governments to do precisely that. The opportunities for the British software industry are huge. The Government just need to make the right move. Some of the right moves are plain and...

I am not sure that the causal chain is as emphatic and clear-cut as the hon. Lady represents it, but later I shall come to the business of a level playing field. It could be argued, could it not, that the indicators for what the industry offers and its potential...

I am not sure that the causal chain is as emphatic and clear-cut as the hon. Lady represents it, but later I shall come to the business of a level playing field. It could be argued, could it not, that the indicators for what the industry offers and its potential...

We all need to be cautious about such things, and I must add to that the fact that my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister made some significant announcements the other day at the event involving Microsoft. We all need to be wary about these issues.

We all need to be cautious about such things, and I must add to that the fact that my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister made some significant announcements the other day at the event involving Microsoft. We all need to be wary about these issues.

The hon. Gentleman will recall that he voted for tuition fees in the last Parliament and I did not. I say nothing about the current policy, but at the time I said that the introduction of tuition fees and top-up fees would reduce the number of people applying to university....

The hon. Gentleman will recall that he voted for tuition fees in the last Parliament and I did not. I say nothing about the current policy, but at the time I said that the introduction of tuition fees and top-up fees would reduce the number of people applying to university....

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reason the personal benefit advice software provided by Jobcentre Plus is compatible with MS Windows platforms only.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reason the personal benefit advice software provided by Jobcentre Plus is compatible with MS Windows platforms only.

Westminster Hall adjournment debate on Government IT and software procurement.

Westminster Hall adjournment debate on Government IT and software procurement.

IT procurement within Government is thought to be an unmitigated disaster, but that is not true. There is good and bad procurement in Government, just as there is in the private sector, and mistakes made in the private sector are sometimes similar to those made in the public sector. Nevertheless,...

IT procurement within Government is thought to be an unmitigated disaster, but that is not true. There is good and bad procurement in Government, just as there is in the private sector, and mistakes made in the private sector are sometimes similar to those made in the public sector. Nevertheless,...

The hon. Gentleman is far more expert in this field than I am. He will be aware of the debate on XML and of what standards should be used for office applications and the like.

The hon. Gentleman is far more expert in this field than I am. He will be aware of the debate on XML and of what standards should be used for office applications and the like.

I am grateful for what the Minister is saying; it is a useful background and encouraging to hear in some respects. The point that I was making, which she has not dealt with, was not about whether some of the tenders are open and above board and give everybody a...

I am grateful for what the Minister is saying; it is a useful background and encouraging to hear in some respects. The point that I was making, which she has not dealt with, was not about whether some of the tenders are open and above board and give everybody a...

That is the type of canard that comes up every time—that we must use a particular supplier because everybody uses it. If the Government are obliging people to use a supplier, that becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy, as I am sure the Minister will acknowledge.

That is the type of canard that comes up every time—that we must use a particular supplier because everybody uses it. If the Government are obliging people to use a supplier, that becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy, as I am sure the Minister will acknowledge.

I exonerate the Government on that point and turn my accusation against the members of that Committee. I made my representations and will continue to do so. This issue is as clear a case of illegal state aid as, for example, the BBC iPlayer—a case that will go to the...

I exonerate the Government on that point and turn my accusation against the members of that Committee. I made my representations and will continue to do so. This issue is as clear a case of illegal state aid as, for example, the BBC iPlayer—a case that will go to the...

I agree. The hon. Gentleman makes a fair point, and the more we converge around open standards, the fewer arguments—arguments of the sort that I am involved in now—there will be. In fact, Microsoft is not the only villain of the piece. The BBC was forced to withdraw its net...

I agree. The hon. Gentleman makes a fair point, and the more we converge around open standards, the fewer arguments—arguments of the sort that I am involved in now—there will be. In fact, Microsoft is not the only villain of the piece. The BBC was forced to withdraw its net...