Memoranda submitted by Members' staff
(October 2006, unless otherwise stated)
MARION ANDERSON
(OFFICE OF
MR JIM
MURPHY MP)
1. As office Manager in the East Renfrewshire
Constituency I am pleased with the way in which the IT equipment
was provided this year.
2. My only comment is that there should
be a greater deal of flexibility in the range of equipment provided
ie. I would have liked a second laptop instead of a desk model.
MICHELE DE
ANGELI (OFFICE
OF MR
RICHARD BENYON
MP)
(a)—Best Practice in the world at large
1. I do not have personal experience of
the provision of ICT in large businesses but am able to comment
on the ability of members of my family who work for global companies
employing many more staff than Parliament but do not experience
the type of issues faced by MP's and their staff. These companies
enable their staff to work remotely from almost any location at
speeds unrecognisable to anything proved by PICT. I would recommend
the Administration Committee request large companies share their
ICT knowledge with PICT.
(b)—Departmental structure and goals
2. My experience of PICT is there are definitely
two levels of service. I work in the constituency for most of
the week, but spend at least one day a week in the House. The
difference in service and performance of the network provided
by PICT is staggering. There seems to be a general "not important"
attitude to constituency problems, where problems experienced
in the House are dealt with almost immediately.
(c)—IT stability v Flexibility
3. There has been no balance struck at all.
There is no flexibility in what is provided or when. There is
no understanding of the needs of the MP or his staff and how they
need to arrange their ICT provision. ie The provision of equipment
is maximum of four PC's, two printers and a laptop. However, no
networking is included at all. How you are meant to use two of
the PCs without a printer is "not my problem" . . .
"you can get someone in to network your machines if you like,
but we don't do that". In addition, one of the printers provided
is not network compatible so you cannot scan to any PC except
the one it is primarily connected to. It has not been thought
through from a business point of view.
(d)—Constituency provision
4. The constituency provision is considered,
second class by PICT. Having our computers delivered on 2 June
2005 (six weeks after the MP was elected), it then took until
the 15 July for the engineer to come and install them, at the
same time breaking the printer and not networking them (see c).
The system was only working fully in August—a full three
months after the MP was elected. All this time we were without
the means to do the job properly and despite a number of emails
and phone calls, there seemed to be no recognition of the difficulties
this caused. By contrast the PC was delivered and installed in
the House on the same day just a short time after the election.
5. In addition an extra printer that was
ordered for the constituency also took more than a month to arrive.
6. The VPN issue was highlighted by me to
PICT within one month of receiving the equipment (Case 421660),
in August 2005. This was never resolved and I was not kept updated.
It was an email from me dated 31 March 2006 which instigated the
"cached mode" change which has speeded up the VPN, but
there is still an underlying problem which I believe is connected
to the broadband speed. We did not get the fastest broadband at
install, because given a choice we went for the middle option
to save taxpayers money. I believe PICT should be changing every
constituency that uses VPN to the fastest and biggest broadband
line to speed up the transfer which is still slow particularly
when there are a number of users on the system (ie Fridays). It
is still unstable and drops frequently. There is also an issue
to be discussed about why it took from summer 2005 to April 2006
to discover that there should have been a tick in the cached mode
box and this would have saved hundreds of thousands of pounds
in wasted time whilst constituency staff all over the UK tied
to work but had to wait minutes between opening emails and doing
anything. Not to mention the money PICT spent visiting constituencies
and never sorting out the problem.
7. There is a bigger question to ask of
PICT. Why did they not acknowledge my email of 31 March but act
on it and then roll out the "cached mode" update claiming
they had solved the problem? Whilst I am not looking for any recognition,
I am concerned that there has been an attempt to cover up their
inability to help the problem. If staff in PICT had not found
this basic set up error, despite the time and money they spent
on trying to solve the problem, questions must be asked of the
quality of their technicians and management and their ability
to give value for money.
8. VPN has a very long way to go before
it reaches the network speeds and stability of the Parliamentary
Estate.
9. PICT also needs to address constituency
in house networking to make for a better working system.
(e)—Customer service
10. IT support needs improving. Whilst the
wait for the call centre staff is not too bad, if you need to
speak to a technician who will call you back, you can wait for
hours. This is not acceptable when you are trying to work. An
example is; I was fixing broadband and VPN in the MPs London flat
and was told, according to the instructions, that I needed an
engineer to talk me through it. I waited 2.5 hours for someone
to call me. I was not in a position to do other work and wasted
all this time. In the end I did it myself—correctly with
help of the same IT company that had identified the cached mode
problem for me. There needs to be more understanding of the working
practices of MPs and their staff and address the provision accordingly.
(f)—New Equipment roll-out
11. Please see my answer to (d) regarding
my experiences in 2005. Lessons need to be learnt.
12. PICT are aware of the number of MPs
in the House of Commons even if they do not know who they will
be before a General Election. It is not rocket science to have
a number of PC's already built and ready to give out the day after
election and book technicians in advance to cover areas. The locations
could have been fitted in once the General Election results were
known. It could all have been achieved by the 31 May. In reality
what happened was that all the machines were built after Polling
day and therefore took a long time to arrive at their destinations
and, only once they had arrived, were technicians booked.
13. Again as said above, networking for
the constituencies should be included as a standard part of the
install
(g)—Future equipment and service need
14. There should be wireless networking
throughout the Parliamentary Estate to allow for the use of Parliamentary
laptops to be used in any area but more importantly the constituency
offices should be networked in house and the VPN issue should
be resolved.
Notes:
1. The technical company which identified
the cached mode issue for me is called Prognosys, and whilst small,
would be willing to consult with PICT on VPN, which is a large
part of their business.
2. I have email evidence for all the examples
mentioned above which is available on request.
PENNY BARBER
(PARLIAMENTARY WATERWAYS
GROUP)
1. I work very part time—the odd hour
or two totalling a maximum of a day a week. I use the system remotely
via citrix.
2. It's a nightmare and has got worse over
the last couple of years. Slow to access, slow to use. Attachments
are the biggest problem—I can't send them or save them to
my computer, however long I wait. I've discussed this with the
help desk several times and they say that's just how it is.
3. What really annoys me is that when I
bought a new lap top two years ago, I consulted with the help
desk. I was told broadband access didn't work remotely. I've discussed
this more recently and they told me it does work now but I can
only have it if I buy a new computer but via you. I can't afford
to do this and it does seem a waste. This was quite an expensive
machine and works well. I really don't see why we can't come to
some arrangement with the licence.
4. On the plus side, the help desk is very
good at answering the phone and calling back and with queries.
SUSAN BAYFORD
(OFFICE OF
MR MARK
HOBAN MP)
Just to let you know that I have always had
excellent support from the PICT staff.
DIANA BLAIR
(OFFICE OF
MR HUGO
SWIRE MP)
Just recently we seem to have had endless interruptions
to the supply of both the intranet and voicemail and I was wondering
whether something could be done to prevent this.
SHIRLEY BUCKLEY
(OFFICE OF
MR MICHAEL
MEACHER MP)
I am reasonably happy with the service I receive
through the helpline for instance (though I wish the hours of
service were a bit longer) but hate the new equipment recently
installed. I don't even use the Dell printer it's that slow, we
have installed our own HP printer instead. I think the VPN service
has improved over the last few months, but I still have problems
accessing the service, particularly at peak times.
PETER CARRINGTON-SMITH
(OFFICE OF
MR CLIVE
BETTS MP)
Notes on problems with PDVN/PICT
1. In the past there have been problems
reading emails with attachments over 256k. The problem was that
it took a very long time to retrieve the email/file from the server.
To a degree this has improved with smaller files but now happens
on a regular basis with attachments around the 1 megabyte mark.
2. One major difficulty we have is that
in the constituency office we have five computers—three
running Windows XP and two running Windows 98SE. Two of the computers
are what we call House of Commons machines while the other three
are stand alone machines—all have broadband internet connections.
3. The problem is that the three stand alone
machines cannot access PDVN and we have to log onto one of the
HOC machines to read emails and download attachments and information
which under ideal circumstances we would simply copy and paste
etc. As more of our work is becoming email based it can be quite
tedious to have to wait until a machine is free to send an email
with the time taken for one user logging off and the other logging
on—this is not an efficient use of our time!
4. Under ideal circumstances, the MP should
be able to log onto PDVN and have access to all the cases that
his/her staff are dealing with. To that end, we would like to
use a system such as CFL's Caseworker on all the machines especially
now that it appears Caseworker has the ability to "Network"
in a fashion on the "S" drive, but this cannot happen
until all our computers have access to PDVN.
5. We realise that there has to be security
and a level of control over the number of users accessing the
Parliamentary domain but has anyone calculated what it would cost
to give each MP access to PDVN for a further two existing machines—approx.
1,300 in all?
MALCOLM CLARKE
(OFFICE OF
BARBARA KEELEY
MP)
One problem which we feel needs addressing is
that PICT do not give advice on or support networking in Constituency
offices. This is a major deficiency in the services they offer.
PHIL COLE
(OFFICE OF
CAROLINE FLINT
MP)
1. First, the support from PICT is great.
2. Second, the Dell hardware supplied in
the latest round is below par.
3. In particular, the Dell laser printers
are very slow. If you are printing letter after letter, as many
staff are, the delay while it thinks about printing is very frustrating.
4. Also, whoever agreed a contract which
required that we order only Dell printer cartridges did no one
any favours. Why should we have printers which for their lifetime
have to have toner from one manufacturer only. This is anti-competitive
and ridiculous. You may find, as we did, that by simply opening
your printer to identify what the cartridge is, triggers the warning
"32 unsupported printer cartridge" followed by the printer
refusing to print. This is not acceptable.
5. I don't believe parliament can be receiving
value for money from this contract, unless the Dell toner is supplied
at substantially below their market price.
SARAH COLEBY
(OFFICE OF
ANNE MILTON
MP)
1. Most of the services are great and I
have few comments.
2. Just one specific area where I consider
there is room for improvement:
3. While I acknowledge that PICT has a massive
task to manage the IT systems for the whole Parliamentary estate
and (in cases like mine, where I often work offsite) beyond, there
are now well over 100 MPs who use the CMITS database system for
constituency work. Every time PICT make a change to their system,
this can have a knock-on effect on CMITS. One of those using CMITS
informs ITOS (the company that produced and maintains CMITS) that
something peculiar is happening, they then have to contact PICT
to find out what they have done, produce a patch and email it
to all users to install.
4. Surely it cannot be beyond PICT to set
in place a protocol that they send a courtesy email to ITOS each
time they make a change on the system, so that they can in turn
pre-empt any problems.
5. As an end user of CMITS, all day Monday
to Friday, I find it extremely frustrating—the problems
that result often mean you have to close the programme and sometimes
the whole computer and then reboot. This may happen several times
in succession and is a seriously irritating interruption.
6. If PICT could introduce such a protocol,
it would be really helpful.
MANDY COLLIS
(OFFICE OF
MR MIKE
HANCOCK MP)
I am very happy with the services provided.
ALISON CORNELL
(OFFICE OF
LAURA MOFFATT
MP) (NOVEMBER 2006)
1. I would simply say that I have found
the PICT team extremely helpful on almost all occasions when I
have requested their help. I think they probably take a lot of
flack for people's frustration when computers fail but my advice
is always—if you don't know what's wrong, just ring 2001,
don't fiddle because you often make it worse, you don't learn
how to put it right simply, and the inevitable final call is in
frustration and often takes longer.
2. My husband works for HMRC and I can assure
you that their service is nothing like as user friendly.
ALEXANDER DAVIES
(OFFICE OF
MR DAN
ROGERSON MP)
One initial thought is that the space given
for our Outlook (Exchange) mailboxes is far too small. I am constantly
receiving notices that my mailbox is over its size limit, and
archiving material to remedy the problem. I cannot, at present,
however keep even 14 days' worth of material on the server, so
that it is available wherever I log in on the Estate.
ALISTAIR DOUGLAS
(OFFICE OF
MR DOMINIC
GRIEVE MP)
1. One slightly irritable thing is the fact
that the inbox becomes very full very quickly. Surely extra storage
can be provided for the inbox. (I am aware that the emails can
be stored elsewhere).
2. Furthermore I used to use Mozilla firefox
as my default internet browser but for reasons unbeknown to me
that is no longer possible. It is a better web browser than internet
explorer and it would be good if we were able to utilise it.
3. Finally I understand that the remote
access system is not always as good as it could be.
IONE DOUGLAS
(OFFICE OF
DR LIAM
FOX MP)
The only problem with 2001 is the time it takes
to get through. It is hard to imagine that all their "available
specialists" being busy at 8.30 in the morning or 6.30 at
night. The message is quite infuriating and worthy of BT at its
worst. If you are going to have specialists, it might be sensible
to have a few more so that they had sufficient time to spend on
an enquiry. Not everyone is quite as quick as they are at understanding
computer problems. This is not, I hasten to say, universal as
the majority of the specialists are most efficient and very patient.
ALAN EVANS
(OFFICE OF
SARAH MCCARTHY-FRY
MP)
I think, on the whole, the service is pretty
good. Its a bit annoying sometimes when you can't access the Intranet—It's
been off most of this week. However the alternative usually meets
my needs, though not absolutely.
DEBBIE FENN
(OFFICE OF
JIM FITZPATRICK
MP)
1. The services provided by the House are
very helpful.
2. At present, many of us receive Gallery
News email service, of which you may have heard. It is a great
service that provides reports and updates throughout the day from
Lobby Correspondent, Rob Gibson. One of its most important features
is its interactive aspect. Rob puts out his own reports and also
press releases, statements and comments from MPs and organisations.
We can then give our view. This provides a very useful forum that
runs throughout the day. I wondered if Gallery News might be something
the House would consider supporting in an official capacity, to
ensure the future of this valuable service.
JANE GIBSON
(OFFICE OF
MR PHILIP
DUNNE MP)
On the whole I am happy with the services provided
by PICT—two comments though:
(a) It would be helpful if there were clearer
guidelines on what is or is not best practice. Many times I have
been told by one of the helpdesk staff to do something one way,
and then another time another operative will tell me an alternative
best practice—eg on simple things like having folders within
Outlook—one told me to set up subfolders in my Inbox—another
later said that was the root of problems which then occurred on
my system.
(b) Logging calls—when I worked at
Savills, each call to the help desk was given a reference number,
similar to the PICT practice—what would ensue would be an
email to me with that reference number and the nature of the problem
and status of the call—whether closed, pending further call
etc., this might be helpful for those of us who may need to call
on the same day about different things and not always write the
reference number down.
JANE GORDON-CUMMING
(OFFICE OF
MR QUENTIN
DAVIES MP)
1. Our new computer equipment has been installed.
One very disappointing feature was the limited range of combined
printers/photocopier/fax machines on offer.
2. We now have a large, cumbersome Dell
Laser MFP 1815dn—with one paper tray and no colour printing
facility. It takes up an inordinate amount of space—anything
larger on offer (with the additional paper tray and colour print—very
useful facilities) simply would not fit in our extremely limited
office space, which must be a common phenomenon in most offices
on the Parliamentary estate. It is also extremely noisy. There
must be more suitable choices on the market.
3. How much input did the Committee receive
before choosing the new computer equipment?
ALEX HAYDON
(OFFICE OF
MR EDWARD
LEIGH MP)
Only improvement I can think of is to please
get more staff so we don't have to wait so long to get through
to PICT!
CHRISTINE HEALD
(OFFICE OF
MR OLIVER
HEALD MP)
I am not sure if this is covered by the Enquiry,
but I do not think that existing provision is adequate for the
level of work—and therefore numbers of staff—needed
in both Parliamentary and constituency offices. E-mail, in particular,
has led to an explosion of work. We find that we have to buy extra
computer equipment and printers from IEP each year. I hope that
the current provision can be reviewed.
LENA HUSKINSON
(OFFICE OF
JIM KNIGHT
MP)
1. I consider that the roll-out of new computer
equipment was slow compared with the original time scale given,
but that may be because I share an office in a rural constituency.
I also feel that although the new Dell computers are very good
compared with the old stock that was removed; the Dell Fax/Photocopier/scanner/Printer
1600N is certainly not fit for purpose when it comes to office
efficiency. I can only compare this with the old HP G85 we used
to have which was far superior to the current machine we have
to use because it was the only one offered. It is slow, difficult
to feed with headed paper when you need to keep the tray filled
with copy paper in case any faxes come in and useless when you
need to copy paperwork that may be written in blue ink or coloured
in any way—I have to ask a favour from another office to
use their copier on a regular basis. Perhaps a stand alone small
copier should have been supplied along with the computer stock.
In other words the office efficiency rating has declined as a
result of lack of forethought by whoever chose to purchase this
model. A complaint has been put into the Helpdesk and it was clear
from comments made that there have been many similar complaints.
2. I also feel that not enough IT training
is available to constituency staff as we are unable to take advantage
of the regular courses on the Parliamentary Estate. Surely some
sort of on-line courses could be offered to staff that come from
non clerical working backgrounds. That way time could be set aside
within a working week for training to take place.
MARGARET HWANG
(OFFICE OF
DAWN PRIMAROLO
MP)
1. Generally speaking the equipment refresh
has been very welcome and seems to have worked well.
2. The centralisation of IT support has
worked very well in my experience, although after a four month
absence due to illness, I noticed on my return that queries are
being dealt with using a "call-centre" approach with
a set script of questions. With no disrespect to the staff intended,
it is a subtle deterioration in the service I was used to before.
3. If possible, a single telephone contact
number for MPs' staff to ring Dell would be helpful.
Update (March 2007): I would say that
I no longer find PICT support excessively call-centre-like (2nd
point); and now that PICT provide Dell consumables direct to MPs'
offices there should be less need to contact Dell. If apart from
consumables, there remains a need to contact Dell, a dedicated
contact point for Dell would definitely be desirable.
THOMAS LOCKTON
(OFFICE OF
SIR ALAN
HASELHURST MP)
1. Regarding the computer services, the
only complaint I could possibly have would be that I fail to see
why it is not possible to use Mozilla Firefox as a browser as
well as Microsoft Internet Explorer. Personally I find Firefox
a far superior browser, although of course IE is perfectly useable.
2. Apart from that everything appears reasonable.
HENRY MATTHEWS
AND OTHERS
(OFFICE OF
LYNNE JONES
MP)
PCD Support for Casework database (MP Case)
1. PCD to provide (& provide support
for) an "in-house" casework database system that all
parties could use. We use MP Case and PCD will not help with any
technical problems arising from the programme or networking issues.
Recess
2. There were quite a few IT problems over
the summer recess with voicemail, access to the Intranet and the
Post Room systems going down. We wonder if there is enough cover
to keep service going properly during recess. Also we were very
concerned that only 14 hours notice was given of the IT hardware
works which required the floor of the offices to come up, resulting
in this office's staff being kept out of the office for 3.5 hours.
This gives the impression that PICT/facilities believes no one
is busy during recess, which is far from the case.
Intranet Website
3. The old website had a few large buttons
which were the main ones needed—ie Hansard, Commons Library,
PIMs, EDMs. With the new website, not all of these useful buttons
are available so for some things that one uses all the time you
now have to go through 2 or 3 links to get to (eg, Commons Daily
Debates = 3 links). As a result, people often don't use the website
at all but set up these things as favourites. We feel there needs
to be some rationalisation here.
PIMS
4. It would be very useful if it were possible
to do a search, eg on all PQs on rendition and then just email
this to someone as a concise list.
5. We still experience instances of PQs
not coming up. For example we may remember that a PQ of Lynne's
may contain a particular unusual word, but despite putting her
name in and the word, it doesn't come up. Conversely, if you put
"energy" in the search term for PQs, of the first 10
answers, nos 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 of a possible 48,442 have nothing
whatsoever to do with energy.
Hansard
6. If you do an advanced search in Hansard,
say on a PQ number, it often doesn't work. eg PQ 94497, which
is Lynne's PQ to PM, won't come up in Hansard search when 94497
is put in the PQ number box.
Factiva
7. We have had instances where we cannot
find articles which we know are there. For example, when we put
in "benefits"—plus search date of "today"
and in "full article"—we do not get the article
we're looking for (BIGGER BILL FOR PENSIONS AND BENEFITS FROM
SEPTEMBER RPI. Financial Times, 18 October 2006, By CHRIS
GILES, 289 words.) However, when we put in "benefits"
into the headline search we do get the article. This decreases
our confidence in the full article search facility. (NB since
checking this anomaly, this error appears not to be occurring.
We will inform the library, of any specific search issues with
Factiva if they happen in the future).
Broadband
8. Quicker broadband services to constituency
offices would be helpful.
Recycling
9. Lack of any obvious recycling scheme
for Dell printer toner cartridges.
PHILIPPE MINCHIN
(OFFICE OF
JOHN SMITH
MP)
1. On the whole I am very pleased with the
ICT services.
2. I would like to know, however, what becomes
of the old IT equipment every time Parliament renews its IT stock
. Is there a system in place whereby old IT equipment which is
in good working order is donated to charities and organisations
throughout the UK?
HEATHER MILLICAN
(OFFICE OF
PATRICK MERCER
MP)
1. I think we receive excellent support
from PICT help desk.
2. However I am really disappointed with
the new printers. They are too big, too noisy and too slow. Also
a completely unnecessary "box" pops up about toner supplies
every time one sends anything to print. HP ones were much better
and I can see no good reason for changing them.
3. Disappointed that the new software does
not support the BBC ticker which I found really, really useful
for monitoring breaking news.
VERONICA OAKESHOTT
(OFFICE OF
MS SALLY
KEEBLE MP)
I think the service is excellent. The staff
are friendly, patient and helpful.
RORY PALMER
(OFFICE OF
SIR PETER
SOULSBY MP)
1. For a large part of the current year
the VPN connection to the Parliamentary network has been very
poor. This has been of great frustration and has severely affected
mine, and colleagues, work.
2. The unpredictable nature of the connection
has been a cause of major problems; unpredictable in terms of
speed of connection and whether it would be possible to connect
at all.
3. This situation now appears to be resolved
with the connection much improved.
4. I have also experienced difficulties
trying to access Factiva by VPN and I am told this is because
of a problem with the intranet. This sort of problem, like the
VPN connectivity problems, are of great frustration to those of
us who do not work on the parliamentary estate but who do need
to have connection into the parliamentary network.
KEITH PORTEOUS
WOOD (OFFICE
OF DR
EVAN HARRIS
MP)
1. I appreciate your concern and efforts
to help off-site Parliamentary workers.
2. I was disappointed that the Factiva press
information system that replaced Lexis Nexis system cannot be
accessed by ADSL and an RSA token system, unlike its predecessor.
I hope that the remedial update will be given a high priority
because this makes working very slow for those working away from
Parliament on non-parliamentary machines.
3. I hope a setting can be arranged for
those using the RSA token in a secure environment (their normal
office as opposed to an internet cafe[acute], for example) so
that the connection does not log off so quickly. It is currently
around five minutes, which means that a new log in can be needed
after being interrupted by a short phone call. Thirty minutes
would seem much more reasonable.
4. Could priority be given to establishing
a stable near-infallible search engine of parliamentary material
please. The current advanced search is once more highly unreliable,
after a year or so of stability. The problem is noted on the website
itself and can lead to serious errors.
5. I have significant number of suggestions
about the layout of the website and how the paper trail of amendments
and bills could be significantly improved. It should be possible
to work on such issues without ever needing paper from the House,
but this is not the case.
HAZEL PRIEST
(OFFICE OF
JIM KNIGHT
MP)
1. We had to wait longer than a year after
the general election to receive our computers and the original
order is date the 23 May 2005. We kept being promised the new
computers but they just did not turn up and we struggled on in
the constituency unable to do our job properly. Whilst the computers
are superior to the ones we previously had the printer is rubbish.
It doesn't matter how many times you use it, it always has to
warm up. The copy quality is rubbish and I often have to either
copy documents on another printer for which there is a charge
or I have to copy them on my cheapy printer at home. Please, please
can we have a printer that is fit for purpose?
2. Whilst there are loads of wonderful courses
for those in the house to pop into, we get nothing in the constituencies.
Those employees who work in Parliament have superior access and
for us to do a short course would involve a whole day when travel
is included and few staff can afford the luxury of a whole day
away from the office. All staff should be able to do the ECDL
or equivalent which they can access through the net and take any
exams locally.
JONNY REYNOLDS
(OFFICE OF
JAMES PURNELL
MP)
1. I have worked for a member for three
years now, and ICT services have really improved in that time.
2. One thing that is a problem however is
internet access for non-PCD laptops within Parliament. There must
surely be a way for private computers that meet the necessary
security criteria (eg virus free etc) to be able to get internet
access and possibly log into the network. Perhaps one solution
might be a parliamentary wireless network with a passcode that
would only be given out to staff?
RICHARD ROBINSON
(OFFICE OF
MR ANDY
REED MP)
1. Can I firstly state that I find the staff
employed at PICT extremely helpful, courteous and patient &
knowledgeable!
2. Moving on to the concerns I have (these
are based on a constituency office point of view)—
— When we had the new machines installed
earlier this year, we experienced tremendous problems transferring
data from the old machines to the new ones. Data was not mapped
properly by the external engineer who installed the new equipment
(and was to have supposed to have transferred all the old data
from the previous machine). This resulted in a week's lost output
as we were unable to fully utilise Outlook e mails on the new
machines (which of course in the constituency—is a crucial
link with the MP etc etc).
— What I'd really like you to consider
is PICT being able to offer more "on site" assistance
in constituency offices. I understand there is a cost implication
to this, but I do feel that some more complex IT problems could
be sorted much quicker.
3. Plus on a related point to this—where
constituency office have purchased part of their IT kit that is
not supplied directly by PICT, there is definitely the need to
be able to reach a full resolution through PICT. Currently where
for example some non standard kit has been purchased, then PICT
are not able to offer a full solution. In our office for example,
where we have tremendous problems accessing e mails via VPN—PICT
are unable to support us because a couple of items of hardware
(router etc) were purchased from external suppliers.
— Therefore if you would allow PICT
to be able to visit on site and be able to support ICT services,
irrespective of where kit is purchased from—that would be
an enormous step forward. I do not believe this would lead to
endless conflict on who is liable for what—it would just
serve to allow a much quicker resolution to ICT problems that
are not intractable—just currently not able to resolved
because of convention and protocol.
BEN ROWE
(OFFICE OF
MR DAVID
HEATHCOAT-AMORY
MP)
As well mannered and willing as the PCD staff
are, they can at times be baffled by the most seemingly simple
problem—it does seem as if they have a script to read from,
as opposed to being absolute top of the range IT operatives. Further
to this, the continual disruption to the Parliamentary Intranet
is becoming beyond a joke—many members of staff are losing
out on valuable resources due to the inability to get it fixed.
Update (March 2007): One thing I would like
to stress was that this statement was provided at least four or
five months ago—at a time when the Intranet had been down
continually for three weeks, and many of us were unable to access
the HoC Library website. Since that time access to the network
has been more or less fine—and, on the occasion that it
has been down, it has rarely been down for more than a couple
of days. As for the PICT staff, they seem to have improved in
that time.
PAUL SCULLY
(OFFICE OF
MR ANDREW
PELLING MP)
1. Thank you for the opportunity to contribute
to this. There are a few areas that I would briefly like to cover:
Network
2. I am based in Star Chamber Court, the
quality of the network has been patchy at best over the summer
months, occasionally resulting in closing the office for a few
hours. We use the CMITS case-management software which is very
dependant on the parliamentary network and errors frequently occur
which can be traced back to the network capability. CMITS and
Outlook are vital to our operation as we try to run a paperless
office as best as we can. This is fine when the network is up
and running but it leaves us at the mercy of the system. I am
not sure what resilience is built into the system to ensure that
it doesn't trip over if a single unit or patch goes down.
Wireless Network
3. PICT supplied laptops had their wireless
capabilities turned off by default. A wireless hotspot covering
the Parliamentary Estate (certainly throughout PCH and the Palace)
would be of great benefit, especially with the cramped working
conditions. Similarly a secure-access extranet would be very helpful
to encourage home-working rather than limiting this to PICT supplied
PCs. I understand the need for security, though I would imagine
that significant areas of the intranet and MPs own files could
be made available under a system that would meet security standards.
Dell Consumables
4. This is still a mystery to many members
of staff that I speak to. Since private companies are able to
set up an online account with dell to order their toner etc. directly
over the Internet, could we not do the same? Calling India rarely
takes less than half an hour and I have only had one correct set
of paperwork in amongst some six orders placed. This cannot be
good for Dell and is certainly not for us. For future procurement
needs, I would prefer to see a provider whose consumables are
more widely available. Though Dell computers are extremely popular,
their printers are somewhat less so and unless changes can be
made to the purchase of consumables, we are hostages to fortune
within the contract.
CMITS
5. I have touched on this before. Since
the 2005 election, there has been a substantially increased take
up of this product. The Scottish Parliament provide this as a
matter of course for all of their members and I understand that
it is being rolled out in other Parliaments abroad. Since it is
becoming established as one of the leading case management software
packages here in Parliament, can PICT deal directly with the provider
to meet the requirements of the product and to ensure that the
future development of the product meets the requirements of the
Parliamentary network.
JOHN STEWART
(OFFICE OF
SIR ROBERT
SMITH MP)
1. Only two comments.
2. Quite a large number of the PICT helpdesk
staff don't always seem to have a full grasp of the systems they
are trying to help with. One example—when we had our "refresh"
computers installed, the first guy I got knew exactly what needed
to be done to get our constituency office up and running on VPN,
but ran out of time to do the other two.
3. When I came to have the other two connected,
I got a different person, and it quickly became obvious they were
not following the same routine. I pointed this out, but was assured
they were doing the right thing. No surprise when our connection
didn't work. I knew what the problem was, but the person I was
dealing with didn't seem to want to know or listen. It took ages
for anyone to call back and try and sort the problem (we are talking
over a week!). In the meantime, I had used my fairly limited IT
knowledge to complete the connection myself.
4. Secondly, I am not happy with the switch
from LexusNexus to Factiva—bring back LexusNexus!
ROGER THISTLE
(OFFICE OF
TOM BRAKE
MP)
1. I am writing on behalf of Tom and his
staff and from a remote constituency office location.
Remote log on and speed
2. The first thing to note is that logging
on to, and using PDVN still remains consistently slower than working
locally on our own network, and discourages us from using the
system the way it was intended, ie "permanently on".
There has been some improvement in recent months, but there are
still times when there is a significant pause, as we wait for
the system to "catch up" in the middle of a letter.
Passwords
3. Is it still really necessary to have
four password protocols to reach Parliament? (DOS; local; parliament;
then parliament again for e-mail). This seems to be overkill!
Networking
4. Trying to integrate our own equipment
leaves us with several irritating bugs such as printing/choosing
tray/stalling/errors and order of log on/off requirements
Printers
5. Dell printers have been the biggest disappointment.
We have a 1600 and 5100. We have no instruction book for them
(paper or on-line), an irritating pop-up showing "Dell toner
cartridge status" on every single print job and poor value
for money because of consumables, not just toner but "drum
replacement" as well, something not experienced with cheaper
brands. The error messages on the machines are difficult to understand,
the systems are not coordinated to ensure that when a paper tray
is selected it always prints to the right tray, and it often defaults
for no apparent reason. Conversely when printer memory is full
the 1600 DOESN'T tell us through the print dialogue, but just
stops working altogether. The printer has an irritating "beep"
which repeats whenever the paper tray is empty, but far too loud
and repetitive. Finally the scanner/photocopier top on the 1600
is very dangerous in that when the lid is lifted, the user is
blinded by white light. The left hand window should be properly
masked as soon as the lid is lifted, not afterwards when the damage
is done. In general it has been difficult ordering consumables
because Dell were only able to send them to "House of Commons
Westminster" which is clearly ridiculous. One went missing
as a result. We have no instructions on how to use the scanner.
Replacement PC
6. A hard drive "went' on one of the
new PCs this year. There was real difficulty contacting the appropriate
engineer to fix the job. When he arrived he knew nothing of the
Parliamentary system and was unable to restore the PC to PDVN
use. Another visit was necessary.
Helpdesk
7. The PDVN helpdesk has been patient and
helpful throughout.
SARAH VERO
(OFFICE OF
DR IAN
GIBSON MP)
Dell computers have provided consistently poor
and delayed delivery of toners. They also sent our constituency
office invoices and toners ordered by several other MPs offices
and then took their time rectifying the matter. Would it be possible
for the House to buy a bulk lot of toners and distribute them?
Westminster staff could have the option to collect them manually
and constituency staff would not have to deal with offshore call
centres. Neither office would have to put up with late delivery
and broken promises. (the Banner stationary toners are not genuine
Dell toners but refills and do not work in my printer).
CHARLOTTE WALLIS
(OFFICE OF
MR KENNETH
CLARKE MP)
I would like to comment on the poor quality
of the Dell printer which has been supplied with the new IT equipment
for our office use. We need to be able to print addresses on envelopes
and the machine is much too sensitive for practical use in this
way. It takes literally several minutes of patient handling to
produce a printed envelope—and even then it is not always
successful—and I am sure you will appreciate that this is
simply not practical.
VIVIENNE WINDLE
(OFFICE OF
LIZ BLACKMAN
MP)
1. Having used the service since 1998, it
is increasingly clear that the 2001 helpdesk approach is no longer
viable. When MPs have problems with their IT, they do not have
time to hang on or wait for call backs, and it therefore falls
to office staff to sort out troubleshooting problems. When it
was a case of computers and telephones, it was fairly simple.
The problems began when VPN was started, and people were recruited
for PCD Helpdesk from Australia and South Africa on temporary
contracts until the end of the project. The problem was that these
people were helpful and knowledgeable, but when they left there
were inevitably still problems, and it was harder to get help.
Now more and more technical hardware is available to MPs and their
staff, and this means that more support is needed when things
go wrong. Although it is very easy to get hold of someone by ringing
2001, there is a wide range of specialisms, and delays in getting
major problems sorted out are caused by waiting for someone who
understands that particular device or software to ring back. We
have to phone the same number for telephones, computers, video
screens, VPN access from the constituencies, MPs laptops (repair
and advice on use) and now the new handheld devices Members have
been issued with. Problems which could be sorted out in a couple
of hours now take days to resolve, because each time we phone
2001, we speak to a new person who is not the member of staff
we need to speak to, and they are not allowed to leave a direct
dial extension number for us to phone them back.
2. It is now time to split the duties of
the PICT team and have specific numbers for specific problems,
so we know that even if we have to wait a little longer for an
answer, when we do get to speak to someone they will be someone
who can definitely help.
3. The other comment we have to make (Westminster
and constituency office staff) is that the handheld devices should
not have been offered to MPs until specific advice on their use,
and not just pdf versions of the instruction booklet, were available.
There should have been some research into how MPs use their email
before they were offered, so that MPs could make an informed decision
as to whether they would be useful or not. Suggestions for additional
items to purchase, such as additional chargers would have been
useful, as MPs need to have duplicates of these in Westminster
and in the constituency.
4. When anything new is offered to Members
in the future, it might be an idea to consult with staff, particularly
those who work for non-computer literate MPs, or MPs who have
not enthusiastically joined ICT consultation exercises, panels
and All Party Groups, to find out what would help and what would
not. This would relieve the burden on the Help Desk as new technology
is taken on and people start to have problems with them.
ALEXANDER WOODMAN
(OFFICE OF
STEPHEN WILLIAMS
MP)
Introduction
1. These comments are submitted on behalf
of the constituency-based staff of Stephen Williams MP (Bristol
West) and relate to the provision of equipment and services for
constituency offices. The staff currently consists of two full-time
staff and two part-time staff. All staff except one have worked
in the office in June 2005, the other since December 2005.
2. As an office we rely heavily on the equipment
and services provided by PICT for our communications and computing
needs. Our main use of the services provided by PICT is for the
efficient, effective and secure transfer of documents and information
between the Westminster and constituency office. Further uses
include access to data and research available on the Parliamentary
network.
3. We focus in this submission primarily
on the areas of the Committee's enquiry relating to constituency
provision, customer service, new equipment roll-out, and future
equipment and service need (points d, e, f and g of the Information
Notice). Points below are organised under these general headings.
Constituency Provision
4. We believe that the VPN is a useful tool
for the tasks mentioned in paragraph 2. However, we feel it is
seriously flawed in terms of speed. This is obviously dependent
on the speed of a constituency office's internet connection. With
up to four users using our 2Mbps ADSL connection, downloading/opening
larger files from the shared "S" drive can become very
slow.
5. This problem is even more acute when
uploading/saving files to the "S" drive, due to the
asymmetric nature of the connection—ie download speeds are
significantly greater than upload speeds. Typically, we can upload
files at a speed of approximately 0.3Mbps. For larger files, this
is too slow.
6. Another speed-related problem is the
use of e-mail, and the sending/receiving of e-mails with large
attachments. As in the case of access to the "S" drive,
the relatively slow speed of the connection, compared to speed
of access on the Parliamentary Estate causes long delays when
trying to send or receive large e-mails.
Customer Service
7. We have experienced significant problems
when reporting problems with equipment to PICT. On approximately
12 occasions we have reported problems to PICT and been advised
that an engineer or technician will call back to assist in rectifying
the problem. In each case, the call back has taken at least three
days.
8. Given the reliance we have on ICT, we
consider that a resolution time of three days for problems is
unacceptably long. However, on one occasion, it took two weeks
before we received a call.
New Equipment Roll-Out
9. We found the provision of new equipment
after the 2005 election to be prompt.
10. Despite this, it took over a month before
engineers arrived to install the equipment. During this time,
numerous appointments were made, but despite that the engineers
did not arrive.
11. Within a few weeks of the election,
as a new Member Stephen Williams received a significant number
of letters and e-mails. Without adequate IT equipment, we experienced
difficulties in ensuring the constituents' queries were responded
to promptly, which potentially damaged his reputation.
Future equipment and service need
12. We believe that the equipment provided
for Members' offices is adequate, however future improvements
could nonetheless be made.
13. The cost of installing wiring for networking
in our office to allow each PC to access the internet/VPN was
£550. We believe that there is an opportunity to mitigate
this cost for all Members in future by providing and installing
wireless networking equipment.
EILEEN WRIGHT
(OFFICE OF
MR PATRICK
MCLOUGHLIN
MP)
As I work for two peers and a journalist as
well as for a Member of Parliament, I did not think it right to
have a Government provided computer and printer so my equipment
belongs to me, personally. I have to say that I seem to have far
less trouble with mine than the others around me have with theirs,
but I must not shout too loudly! It is a Dell, but a different
variety.
A MEMBER'S
EMPLOYEE WHO
HAS ASKED
TO REMAIN
ANONYMOUS
1. I work in the Constituency mainly handling
diary issues, arranging and attending meetings and visits, providing
briefing notes. I work online all the time and I have to say that
I feel I have been badly let down. I have suffered from so much
stress recently that I thought I would have to take time off work—all
due to the inadequacy of the system. I have worked for 30 years
and have never suffered stress through work, or stress-related
problems at all. I have worked at senior project management level
in the past ( I now choose to work within an interesting part-time
environment).
2. The system is inadequate for remote working.
I have spoken to the Help Desk about 20 times in the last two
weeks. Sometimes I speak to someone who knows how to resolve the
problem—sometimes not. Basic inadequacies, not being able
to access programmes, printer not working etc. due to remote disconnection,
server problems etc. Sometimes the Help Desk ring back or pass
on the problem—sometimes not.
3. Due to Broadband not being connected
when it should have been I have had lots of problems in the last
few months—the VPN system is unsatisfactory. When trying
to undertake research the computer just freezes and I have to
"shut down" and re-start. Email is now a large part
of working life and sometimes the system just collapses and I
have to re-commence replying/writing to constituents or other
agencies. It's a real pain and I think repeating one's work, not
being able to rely on the system or resolve issues causes the
stress.
4. A few years ago my MP arranged for the
Help Desk Manager to meet with himself and me in Westminster.
Things improved for a while but clearly I still have problems.
5. The arrangements for the new computers
have been a headache too. We were notified in February of the
new Dell computers. We completed forms and returned them as requested.
In April we asked what was happening as we had been told that
we would be provided with new computers in March/April. We were
then told that our forms had been mislaid. We completed more forms.
Again, the same thing happened. At the beginning of July, after
asking about the computers, forms were filled in late one Friday
evening and returned again. The next week I was asked to complete
my form via email as again something had been mislaid. The computer
arrived and was installed. I feel the whole operation has been
disjointed. I now have one old computer, one new computer and
another computer arrived a few weeks ago—which I don't need
! That was sent to our other office who had been waiting weeks
for their computer to arrive !! But another one arrived there
too, eventually. This week an engineer arrives to transfer data
from the old computer to the new one and I hope to be able to
be connected to Broadband—at last !! The old computer will
be taken away. I don't think the Help Desk pass on messages re
problems. As soon as Dell comes on board, things seem to happen
quickly.
6. I have worked in the NHS and over 12
years ago I was involved in arranging GP computer systems linking
with the Health Authorities across Yorkshire and Humberside. That
worked better than this all those years ago. There was a real
effort to meet users' needs from the outset and to resolve problems
before they even happened. I wonder why that approach hasn't been
used for us ?
7. Sorry to rattle on but you did ask !!!
8. I hope you have a clear picture of the
discrepancies in my working life . . .
Update (October 2006): After complaining
so many times that I have lost count, I was telephoned last week
to say that an engineer would arrive this morning at 10.00 am
to transfer data from my old machine to my new one. The engineer
has just telephoned—an hour after he was supposed to arrive—to
say that he doesn't know how to transfer this data and he is trying
to find out how to do this. No indication of when the transfer
will occur.
I have just informed my MP of this as I have
work piling up that needs attention. If I don't hear anything
this week, my MP has suggested that I go to Westminster next week
so that he and I meet with the Manager of the Help Desk/IT Department
again.
Am I the only person to have such problems?
Further update (March 2007): The issues
stated above relate to the last nine years—things have improved
since Broadband and the new Dell system. All computers are where
they should be and we are all working well. I think that information
would need to be stated to keep things in context and to be fair.
I just hope that the improvement continues! Thankfully, I am no
longer suffering the stress that I referred to previously.
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