asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why Plessey has been dropped from the shortlist for the contract for the Government data network; and if he will make a statement.

After a review of the four responses received, it was decided not to proceed further with the proposal from Plessey/CAP Network Services Ltd. For reasons of commercial confidentiality it would not be proper for details of the evaluation to be made public but in accordance with normal practice the members of the unsuccessful consortium have been debriefed by the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency.