To ask the Solicitor-General what the cost was to her Department of mobile phones supplied to Ministers and officials in each of the years since 1997, broken down by (a) price of apparatus and (b) cost of usage. [123071]

The Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers does not keep separate figures for the cost of apparatus from that of usage. Costs since 1997 are as follows:

Year ending 31 March
1997	1,724
1998	2,270
1999	2,739
2000	2,454
2001	2,223
2002	3,295
2003	4,405

The Crown Prosecution Service cannot provide a separate breakdown of costs for purchasing contract mobile phones. The cost is included in the overall contract charge. The CPS also uses a few "Pay As You Go" mobile phones. These, together with the associated

costs, are paid for individually by CPS Areas. In respect of the cost of usage, information is only available from October 1998 when the CPS established a national contract for telephony services. The overall contract charge for mobile phones is:

	£
1998 (from October)	11.95
1999	5,445.72
2000	28,621.79
2001	77,356.20
2002	138,086.75
2003 (to end June)	76,881.38

The cost to the Serious Fraud Office for providing mobile phones to officials does not include the costs of personal calls. The full cost per year since 1997, is detailed.

	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	12002
Network and call charges	11,554	4,205	5,680	5,981	6,437	7,536
Purchases	316	274	970	1,261	1,587	823
Total cost	11,870	4,479	6,650	7,242	8,024	8,359
1 provisional

As part of the Protocol between HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate and Crown Prosecution Service, it was agreed the Crown Prosecution Service would pay for all mobile phones supplied to inspectors. Costs since 2000 are broken down as follows: