5 Provision of IT equipment
57. In 2010 all new Members arriving at the New
Members Reception Areas (NMRA) on their first day in Westminster
were set up with a network account (with a .MP@parliament.uk email
address), offered a laptop computer, and issued with a telephone
number and access to voicemail. Once Members had been allocated
an office, the in-house IT department, Parliamentary Information
Communications and Technology (PICT), offered them up to five
desktop or laptop computers and two printers—the equipment
that the House Service is expected to provide on loan to Members.
From both the perspective of PICT and new Members the presence
of PICT in the NMRA worked well and will be repeated in 2015.[43]
58. The current provision of loan equipment is
based on recommendations of the Senior Salaries Review Board,
endorsed by the House in July 2001 and November 2004 (amended
by the Members Estimate Committee on 30 April 2012). For convenience
this is referred to below as the 2004 Resolution. It states that
each Member should have access to: -
a) one fixed workstation and either one laptop
or one iPad for his or her own use, plus three further workstations
(up to two of which may be substituted by an equivalent number
of laptops), sufficient for each full-time equivalent member of
staff paid for by IPSA through Staffing Expenditure to have his
or her own PC; and
b) a heavy-duty printer in both Westminster and
the constituency.
59. Generally under this arrangement equipment
is expected to last for the whole Parliament. Equipment comes
with a four year warranty; failures after this point are managed
by PICT. Tablet computers on the other hand have a shorter assumed
life, and are likely to require replacement mid-Parliament.
60. In addition, but not noted as part of the
Resolution, PICT provides up to three broadband services (cable
and asymmetric digital subscriber lines—known as ADSL).
61. Since the Resolution in 2004 technology has
changed and will continue to do so before the next election. PICT's
ICT Strategy Programme is embracing this evolution and actively
planning for a shift in the way Members want to work as follows:
- PICT is moving towards the
adoption of cloud-based (hosted) computing. This approach will
provide opportunities: more mobility, increased storage and greater
choice; and reduce costs. Working in the cloud means accessing
information off-site via the internet. As devices will no longer
have to meet minimum requirements to connect directly to the Parliamentary
Network, they can be of lower specification. This will enable
a greater variety of devices to be used. [44]
- Later in 2013 a small group of Members will be
piloting the use of Microsoft Office 365 to provide cloud-based
services. Current planning assumes that by the 2015 election Office
365 will be available to newly-elected and returning Members.[45]
PICT will support Members as data owners to understand their responsibilities
for data security in the cloud and the conduct of their staff
in this respect.
- PICT anticipates, and we agree, that new Members
will in future be more likely to arrive with their own IT equipment
and will want to link this to the Parliamentary Network. The ability
to 'Bring Your Own Device' will also provide greater flexibility
for Members in how they carry out their work. The only limitation
is that their device is capable of connecting to the internet
with a modern browser and operating system.
- Since the last election WiFi was been extended
to all Members offices and by the end of 2013 WiFi will be available
across the Estate. This will remove the dependency on temporary
WiFi-enabled accommodation in order for new Members to get connected
in their first weeks at Westminster.
- iPads/tablets are now issued and supported by
PICT. All members of select committees are entitled to a PICT-issued
iPad to carry out the work of their committee if it has resolved
to distribute papers electronically. (If Members want to use their
own iPad for committee work, then this currently has to be configured
to receive committee papers).[46]
62. Since the Resolution in 2004 the needs of
Members have also changed. As email traffic, case-work and constituency
activity has grown, so has Members' complement of staff and their
need to work on the move. As we have said elsewhere in this report,
Members now tend to have a higher average number of staff, so
there are more people who require access to IT equipment within
a Member's office. Joan Miller, Director of PICT, said that on
recent visits to Members' constituency offices she realised just
how much Members needed a variety of equipment and a mix of static
and mobile devices to cater for them and their staff. [47]
63. As the Commons begins to move away from working
on paper towards a digital-first approach, Members will become
even more dependent on IT. We were the first committee to pilot
working electronically with tablets and now about 140 Members
on 18 committees have followed our lead. These tablets do not
form part of a Member's core allowance—funded by the Members'
Estimate—since for the purposes of the trial they are funded
from the Administration Estimate to allow participation in the
new ways of working being adopted by committees.
64. Through the use of tablets our Committee
has considerably cut its printing costs and reduced the staff
time devoted to distributing its papers. This small initiative
provides a welcome contribution to the House's target of reducing
costs by 17% in real terms between 2010/11 and 2014/15. More broadly,
increased electronic working and less reliance on printing will
be saving more than £2 million a year by 2014/15 and we need
to ensure that Members are properly equipped for this transition
so that these changes in working practices can be embedded, and
in particular that committees can start the new Parliament working
electronically.
65. Use of tablets and other mobile devices,
but not laptops, is now permitted in the Chamber as well as committees.
As other initiatives, such as the online Order Paper and e-tabling
for questions, begin to bear fruit (and savings for the House)
there are more and more opportunities for Members to work electronically.
66. The shift to working less
with paper, in a more mobile way and remotely from the Estate
has been recognised by PICT, but at the moment there are certain
limitations that prevent full use of mobile devices. Joan Miller
told us that these constraints should be removed with the move
of IT services to the cloud, another reason for us to support
such a change.
We are able to provide iPads with a security wrapper
that makes it possible for Members to receive emails and documents.
What we are not able to do is provide full access to the office
environment at the minute, so being able to access your stored
files and folders is not available on an iPad at the minute. Moving
to Microsoft 365 in a cloud environment, we would expect that
to also be available to Members by the time of the next election.[48]
67. PICT believes that if a tablet can be enabled
to provide the majority of core functions to Members from the
outset of a new Parliament then it should be the first piece of
equipment provided to a Member. Joan Miller said:
We believe that the first piece of equipment being
an iPad would allow Members to have documents they could read;
emails they could read; to be able to see files in their folders
that they could read, and to be able to see the documents and
papers for the first meetings that they have. That might be an
adequate first step for the first few weeks.[49]
68. The suggestion that a tablet should be the
first piece of IT equipment that all Members are offered on arrival
after an election, whether a new Member or an existing one (instead
of a laptop which is what Members received in 2010), is a positive
step towards better meeting the needs of Members and catering
for their emerging working patterns. Tablets should be viewed
in the same way as a desk—a piece of equipment that is vital
to getting started in a new job—and should be given to Members
as soon as possible on arrival.
69. If this tablet was additional to the current
core allowance of IT equipment for Members it would go some way
to addressing concerns that Members and their staff require the
use of a greater number of devices.[50]
However, this would only be part of the solution as we discuss
below. The provision of tablets through this route would replace
the current select committee pilot and would enable all Members
to work electronically in committees and the Chamber from the
outset. On an assumption that 250 Members would have been issued
with a tablet for committee work in any case under the terms of
the current pilot, we estimate that the additional cost would
be in the order of £150,000 per annum averaged over the whole
parliament.
70. Once Members have got a parliamentary tablet
they need to be free to roam with it. Any tablet provided by PICT
should have a SIM card to enable Members to continue to work where
there is no WiFi. (If the tablet belongs to the Member then it
is fair to assume that they are then responsible for providing
their own SIM card and reclaiming the cost).
71. We recommend that a tablet
and a laptop should be the first pieces of equipment offered to
all Members after the 2015 election. The tablet should be in addition
to the current allowance and should come with a SIM card. This
provision of a tablet would replace any tablets available as part
of the current select committee pilot. The laptop would come from
the IT equipment allowance for Members provided by PICT.
72. In terms of other mobile devices, although
not part of the Resolution, it is worth noting that PICT currently
assists Members by sourcing smartphones under a contract with
a single supplier. Members are responsible for meeting all their
running costs. Compared to the variety of packages on the high
street or internet this service is relatively inflexible and only
90 Members use it.[51]
Members would have more choice and be able to secure a better
deal on smartphones outside PICT and with the benefit of PICT's
advice they could select a device which will connect to Parliament's
services.
73. We recommend that PICT
wind down its current smartphone service and cease this after
the next election.
74. Two printers are part of the current allowance
of loan equipment from PICT. Joan Miller proposed that after the
election in 2015, Members would be provided with access to "very
big floor standing printers, scanners and photocopiers that might
be used for whole sections of areas of the floor."[52]
These are known as multi-functional devices. Joan Miller said
that these devices would be in addition to local printers. "It
is not about replacing or removing a printer [...] It is about
a cheaper, lighter printer for the office, with a heavy-duty printer
a little way down the corridor where you could do very heavy runs."[53]
75. Providing an alternative printer which would
print at a lower cost per page to the user (up to a third cheaper
than the current desk printers) and is secure via the use of a
personal pin would mean that Members could opt for lower specification
printers in their offices and reallocated the savings to other
IT equipment. (We understand that these multi-functional devices
can be configured so that as now costs for photocopies are not
charged to Members).
76. We believe that Members will still be keen
to retain personal printers in their offices and it will be important
to communicate in 2015 that any provision of multi-functional
devices is in addition to a personal allowance, not instead of.
We recognise the benefit
of providing access to multi-functional devices, and thereby a
choice of cheaper bulk and colour printing, which could allow
Members to use their own IT equipment allowance in a more efficient
way.
77. Currently Members who want more IT equipment
can purchase it from the parliamentary catalogue or buy their
own preferred equipment, and reclaim costs from IPSA. IPSA therefore
has an interest in the provision of IT equipment to Members. Joan
Miller told us that it is unlikely by 2015 that all IT equipment
for Members would be purchased directly through IPSA, removing
the need for PICT to loan the equipment.[54]
Andrew McDonald said that any changes to the existing arrangement
are for the future "there is a broader strategic conversation
that we and the Commons Authorities are now beginning, about how
MPs are supported in respect specifically of IT equipment. [...]
it does raise questions as to where the boundary should be in
future."[55] Andrew's
colleague, John Sills, gave his view on where this boundary currently
lies:
[T]he House provides MPs with a basic level of IT,
does it not? A certain number of stations and things like that.
Where MPs need more then they can claim that out of their office
costs budget. IPSA itself does not bulk purchase equipment [...]
we are not in the business of buying things ourselves.[56]
78. Although whether equipment is purchased from
IPSA or loaned by PICT does not make a difference to the taxpayer,
it does matter to Members. As we have already observed some Members
declared in their election manifestos that they would not claim
expenses, or at least only a minimum amount. This is another area
where Members would be reluctant to claim from IPSA the cost of
equipment, even though this might be necessary to carry out their
Parliamentary duties. In addition, it is unlikely that Members
would want to purchase directly via IPSA when PICT provides high
levels of training, on-site support and security which Members
would not receive if they bought equipment on the high street.
PICT's ability to purchase in bulk also means that it can achieve
value for money based on economies of scale. We
support the proposal that PICT continues to loan IT equipment
to Members.
79. If PICT is still going to loan core IT equipment
to Members, even if this includes a tablet, how should the concerns
that the existing allowance is too restrictive be addressed? Joan
Miller recognises that "There is an argument to be made that,
for a full range of services, Members may not have enough choice
within the five pieces of equipment in today's world."[57]
80. Joan Miller told us about companies "that
can provide a catalogue, where Members can choose what equipment
they wanted from that catalogue, up to perhaps a capped allowance,
that is equal to the current cost of five pieces of equipment."[58]
This approach would allow Members to purchase whatever combination
of devices they needed. Members could squeeze more devices out
of the equivalent value of the current allowance if they bought
lower specification devices for certain purposes.
81. This prospect does come with a warning from
PICT—that with choice comes responsibility. PICT would focus
on only including equipment that is safe and secure to operate
on the parliamentary network in any catalogue. Members who chose
to buy IPSA-funded IT equipment from the high street would be
responsible for obtaining a warranty from the suppliers to ensure
that there was first line support if something went wrong with
it.[59]
82. We recommend that in
order to allow more choice and the opportunity for new and existing
Members to spread the procurement of IT equipment over time, directly
after the 2015 election PICT should enable Members to select from
a catalogue of IT equipment, including a range of products from
most major manufactures, up to the equivalent value of the current
provision.
83. We recommend that to
enable a catalogue-based approach the Members Estimate Committee,
under the provisions of Standing Order No.152D(3)(b), further
amends the Resolutions of the House relating to IT provision to
include, with effect from the date of the next general election,
the sub-clause:
(c) or, as an alternative to
(a) and (b), a different mix of business standard equipment from
the prescribed catalogue up to the same value.
84. We recommend that PICT
consults this Committee by May 2014 on the detailed mechanics
of how the post-2015 scheme for providing IT equipment to Members
would work in practice.
85. Although not part of the Resolution, PICT
provides broadband services to Members. Each Member is entitled
to up to three broadband lines at the moment. Only 476 Members
use the broadband service at all and the majority of these (301)
only take one service. 124 take two services and 48 take
the full allowance of three. The ubiquity of broadband and its
bundling with television and domestic phone packages probably
explains why a quarter of Members do not use the service at all
and so few (48) take the full three services.
86. The installation of broadband services in
constituency offices was cited as one of the main frustrations
with PICT's service by new Members in 2010 due to the dependencies
between BT and the broadband provider, and the time delay between
ordering and receiving these services.[60]
This is likely to continue beyond 2015 due to PICT's reliance
on external suppliers and the rigidity of working with only one
broadband provider. Complaints are disproportionate to the number
of Members who take the broadband service which shows the strength
of feeling behind them. We
appreciate that PICT has made numerous attempts to bring external
broadband suppliers to account and is as frustrated as Members
are in trying to improve services but PICT should continue to
challenge them to deliver an optimum service for the House.
87. We recommend that PICT
offers Members "dongles" (wireless modems that plug
into PCs or laptops) to alleviate any problems with broadband
as soon as a delay occurs until the problem is fixed.
88. It is clear that for some Members in 2015,
both newly elected and returning, there will be much to get to
grips with in terms of technology, devices to choose from and
new ways of working. There will be a need for quality advice and
efficient customer service from PICT to support Members through
a potentially confusing array of options. PICT is remodelling
its service model now so that by 2015 its service desk agents
will be fully aware of the different options and functionality
available when Members' offices are set up. PICT staff will be
able to sit with the Member, discuss how the Member uses IT and
help them select the right equipment for the job. Joan Miller
told us that:
If it is something that is easy to use, easy to plug
in, and light and transportable, then they will be able to point
you to the kinds of equipment that will be a better choice for
you than other kinds of equipment. We will provide that personalised
kind of service.[61]
89. We recommend that PICT
establishes a model office in a central location on the Estate
where Members can drop in and learn more about the cloud, Microsoft
Office 365 and different devices. This would alert existing Members,
who of course may return in 2015, to the possible changes to their
IT. PICT should encourage Members to adopt new ways of working
in the current Parliament so that the impact of the change in
2015 is minimised.
43 Ev 40 Back
44
Ev 42 Back
45
Q 76 Back
46
Ev 42 Back
47
Q 75 Back
48
Q 76 Back
49
Q 76 Back
50
Q 75 Back
51
Ev 42 Back
52
Q 87 Back
53
Q 88 Back
54
Q 78 Back
55
Q 43 Back
56
Q 44 Back
57
Q 75 Back
58
Q 78 Back
59
Q 79 Back
60
Ev 49 [Sue Plimmer-Clarke on behalf of Nicky Morgan MP] Back
61
Q 86 Back
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