House of Commons Hansard Debates for 11 Jul 1997 (pt 11)

Mr. Jones: The hon. Gentleman has one of the most beautiful constituencies in our wonderful islands.

Estate agents will provide a multi-media conducted tour of the home of tomorrow from the comfort of the armchair in the home of today. Because there will be point-to-point access, a colleague will be able to call and send a document, a press release or the 3D image of the building one is designing so that we can make last-minute adjustments.

There is some evidence that companies will locate where they can have the best information infrastructure, as well as the best road, rail and air infrastructure. Soon, access to central and local government services will be available in the home. I have a vision that on a Sunday afternoon, when the football is boring--I will not say which team might be playing--I will be filling in my tax form, pressing a button and sending it off to the Inland Revenue, without the prospect of all those letters coming back asking for more details on this or that.

Mrs. Gillan: Did the hon. Gentleman have an opportunity this week to see the exhibition in the Upper Waiting Hall? It showed that tax forms are already available on the system, although we cannot yet send forms directly to the Inland Revenue. That progress was made under the previous Conservative Government, and I think that they should be applauded for it.

Mr. Jones: I am quite happy to applaud the previous Government for the progress that they made, and I even know some of the people who worked on that system at the Inland Revenue. However, I should like further innovation. We should, for example, be able to select a character on the screen to act as a guide. One could

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perhaps select Rory Bremner to ask questions on one's tax return, possibly making the experience more enjoyable than it is now.

All those governmental systems should be delivered to the home. Citizens advice bureaux have already been mentioned in the debate, because they certainly have a role to play in those systems. Andrew Banfield, who runs the Cheltenham district CAB, told me that Cheltenham is one of six CABs in England piloting direct access to Government forms via the Internet.

Mr. Ian Taylor: I apologise for intervening after making such a long speech, but the hon. Gentleman has raised a crucial point. One of the reasons why we currently cannot directly file our tax returns but must go through a recognised intermediate is the need to verify data and the sender's identity. That is why I established the National Smartcard Forum. I am very keen to encourage smartcards, and I know that my hon. Friend the Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs. Gillan) is also very interested in the subject. We must grasp the nettle on that matter, or we will slow the rate of progress in improving direct access to Government services.

Mr. Jones: The former Minister has raised a very important point. I would not like the hon. Member for South Dorset, for example, to send in my tax return, and I am sure that he would not like me to send in his.

Mr. Battle: It depends on how big they are.

Mr. Jones: I am sure that the return of the hon. Member for South Dorset is much bigger than mine, and I am sure also that he would like me to pay his tax. We will, however, have to talk about the issue of data verification. The hon. Member for Esher and Walton started the consultation process on the issue, but we still have some way to go.

The CAB is an ideal organisation for introducing information systems in a user-friendly form--in their homes--to the largest possible number of people. Such progress will enhance the lives especially of disabled people who cannot get out much, who will benefit from technology by being able to access the services that they need.

The Government have a responsibility to ensure that everyone who wants them can gain the skills necessary to use new technology. That will involve ensuring not only that the infrastructure extends nationwide but that there is no financial barrier to gaining such skills. People in schools, colleges, universities, libraries, village halls and at home must be able to gain access.

Every school pupil should have access to information technology, not only so that they can learn about word processing and spread sheets, and find their way around the Internet but to prepare them for life in the information age. If a person at school today does not develop the skills to use the information technology that will pervade everyone's life, they probably will not be able to get a job.

A previous Secretary of State for Education and Employment made encouraging noises about linking schools and colleges in the same way as super-JANET links universities. There has already been some banter in this debate about the ideas that the Prime Minister expressed when he was Leader of the Opposition.

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However, like the hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs. Gillan), I suspect that some of those ideas--fine though they were--have not yet been fully thought through.

There is a problem in education across the United Kingdom, not least in my own county of the Gloucestershire. School budgets have been cut annually because of the fatally flawed system of standard spending assessments. If we fail to invest in education now, we will rear a semi-skilled generation that is unable to compete in the world.

Some wonderful pilot schemes are being operated in schools across the country, and they started under the previous regime. In my own constituency, Arthur Dye primary school is now linked into Telewest's system. Telewest piloted and paid for the project, for which we are extraordinarily grateful. The school has an Internet terminal, and the head teacher has told me that the project is already having an impact on children's behaviour. Children not only come to school early but they do not want to leave at lunch time to kick a ball around the field. They also stay late after school so that they can get their hands on the kit.

Another primary school in my constituency, Sir Thomas More Catholic primary school, has received sponsorship from Texaco and has given each member of its top class--the 10-year-olds--a small hand-held computer. The children take their computer home to do their homework. I saw some of the material that they have produced using that pilot system, and it convinced me that we should expand such systems to every school and to every child, so that they can all have access and own their own equipment.

Tomorrow, I will launch an information technology project at Wolvercote first school, in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Oxford, West and Abingdon (Dr. Harris). Southern Electric has donated six computers to that school. They will join another computer donated by Huw Price, the managing director of BitbyBit, a local software company. BT has kindly provided free access to the Internet for a year. These are all private sector initiatives, but there is a need for some Government pump priming, too.

My party leader knows I believe that every child should be given a personal computer at the age of 10. The cost would be considerable if it were to come from Government funding alone. About 600,000 children reach the age of 10 each year. I asked some computer manufacturers to give me a quote and, although the figures varied, one company suggested that it could supply 600,000 children with a machine of their own for a total of £200 million. That sounds like a bargain to me--it would mean one tenth of a penny on income tax. I am happy to discuss with the Minister the possibility of developing a policy to supply every young person with a PC.

I said that new technology was a source of dangers as well as opportunities. There has been much media coverage of the security of sensitive personal information, and there is concern about the use of the Internet by terrorists, paedophiles and other law breakers. However, a much more urgent problem is that of the year 2000, known in the trade as the millennium time bomb. The problem was created by the information technology industry, and now has to be fixed by the industry and its customers, but time is ticking by.