To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the Answer of 21 February 2008, Official Report, column 1012W, on departmental computer software, the source code of which software (a) is and (b) is not held in escrow. (192647)

The Department has 212 applications contracted for maintenance and support. Of these, source code for applications that are bespoke to DWP and considered mission critical, i.e. considered absolutely essential for the Department’s business, are held in escrow. These are list (a). Source code for applications that are not bespoke or considered mission critical are not currently held in escrow. These are list (b).

The information in lists (a) and (b) has been placed in the Library (Annex 1).