To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information technology projects initiated by (a) his Department and (b) its agencies were cancelled prior to completion in the last 12 months; and what the cost of each such project was to the public purse. (320427)

The Department has not cancelled any IT projects since April 2009.

The Rural Payments Agency cancelled the Microsoft Project Server project at a cost to the public purse of £183,140.76, and postponed the Customer Communications Improvement programme at a cost of £60,843.48. The Food and Environment Research Agency cancelled an IT project to extend the Laboratory Information Management System for use in a Forensic DNA profile facility. FERA spent a total £70,000 of staff time configuring existing IT systems. No other departmental agency has cancelled any IT projects since April 2009.