Child Benefit: Personal Records

Mr. Hoban
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost was of maintaining the child benefit database in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Jane Kennedy
The costs of running and maintaining the child benefit IT system, including charges for system infrastructure, over the last five years have been:

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|                                          |£ million|
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|2003-04                                   |6.5      |
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|2004-05                                   |5.1      |
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|2005-06                                   |3.7      |
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|2006-07                                   |6.2      |
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|2007-08 (up to and including October 2007)|5.1      |
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