To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many new (a) laptops, (b) mobile telephones and (c) personal digital assistant devices his Department and its predecessors have bought for the use of departmental Ministers following each Cabinet reshuffle since 1997; and if he will make a statement. (156740)

The Department has not purchased any new laptops, mobile telephones or personal digital assistant devices as a consequence of any Cabinet reshuffle. The Department recovers assigned ICT equipment from departing ministerial teams and reallocates the devices accordingly. If insufficient devices for ministerial teams are available at the time of a Cabinet reshuffle, the Department utilises devices that are within the reserve capacity held by the Department’s ICT suppliers as contingency and recovered devices are returned to this capacity pool. The Department’s arrangements with its ICT suppliers are structured such that this capacity is not charged for until used and the net effect on the ICT budget as a consequence is zero.