To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 11 May, Official Report, column 262, if he will give the reasons for the reduction by £500,000 of the contract with the IBM Corporation, United Kingdom, agreed to in August 1986 for the computerisation of his Department's management information system.

There have been no reductions. It is anticipated that further payments for maintenance and services will be made during the lifetime of this project, bringing total payments to approximately £1·6 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) whether any software subcontractor employed by IBM UK for the computerisation of the Welsh Office management information system was removed from the contract between August 1986 and 1 April 1990;(2) which software subcontractors were employed by IBM UK under the contract of August 1986 with the Welsh Office for the computerisation of its management information system.

These are matters for IBM UK Ltd.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) whether he has sent a report to the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency on the final settlement of the contract awarded in April 1986 to IBM to computerise his Department's financial management system;(2) whether he has forwarded any advice to the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency on the tendering procedure followed for the computerising of departmental financial management systems.

The CCTA has been fully informed of all matters relating to the contract with IBM UK Ltd.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will be making any further report to the National Audit Office on the conclusion of the contract awarded to IBM UK in April 1986 to computerise the financial management system in his Department.

We have made no reports to NAO as there is no requirement for us to do so. The Department's records are available for NAO's inspection in the normal way.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether any payments were made to any software subcontractor employed by IBM UK for the completion of the contract of August 1986 for the computerisation of the Welsh Office management information system.

Our Department made no payments to software subcontractors employed by IBM UK Ltd.