To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many of the 1,499 Government websites identified for closure in the Varney review have (a) been closed and (b) not been closed. (312184)

I have asked the chief executive of the Central Office of Information to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Mark Lund, dated 27 January 2010:

As Chief Executive of the Central Office of Information (COI), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question [312184] regarding Government Websites.

The purpose of closing websites is to package the content appropriately for the intended audience and put into a place easy to find and useful for them. The Varney review requested Departments undertake Website Reviews because the number was not at that time known. We have now got a robust process for identifying and recording government websites. Of the 1,700 websites identified by Departments by 31 December 2009, 907 were closed with a further 479 committed to be closed that are not yet closed.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office which websites were identified for closure by the Department Website Review; which of these have been closed; and what Department or other body sponsors or sponsored each website. (312302)

I have asked the chief executive of the Central Office of Information to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Mark Lund, dated 27 January 2010:

As Chief Executive of the Central Office of Information (COI), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question [312302] regarding Government Websites.

Each Department is responsible for its own Website Review, with guidance and advice from the Cabinet Office and Central Office of Information. The list of websites that Departments have reported as closed and those which they have committed to close was placed in Parliament's Library. The list is the latest prepared and was up to date end of June 2009.