asked the Minister for Social Welfare the number of private consultants who have been engaged by his Department since 10 March 1987; the reason for their appointment; the terms and conditions of such appointment; the fee liability incurred to date; the fees paid to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Private Consultant Appointments.
63.
The Department engage consultancy assistance principally to assist in the development of computer systems aimed at modernising payment systems and to provide analysis of specific organisational issues. The terms and conditions of each consultancy appointment relate to the specific deliverables for each project. The Department has engaged 10 private consultants on the following projects since 10 March 1987.
Book Security Enhancement — Fee — £216,375 (paid) — to assist in the development of a modernised book issue system for pensions, child benefit, and family income supplement payments.
Telecommunications Network — Fee £6,000 (paid) — to provide technical assistance and advice on the installation of telecommunications equipment.
— Fee — £10,000 (paid) — to review the Department's network strategy.
— Fee £87,500 — (no payment made) — to draw up a detailed plan for the implementation of INFONET — the Department's telecommunications network, to establish a network management control centre, and to train staff in network management skills.
Security of Payment Systems Review (Phase 2) — Fee £195,417.50 (paid) — this was a continuation of work commenced in 1986. Phase 2 work included a detailed review of the disability and unemployment payment systems to establish where they are most at risk, and to advise on the most cost effective measures to keep these risks to a minimum, the review of the Department's prosecution policy and procedures in the light of the outcome of the review of payment systems, and assistance on researching and developing the approach to estimating the level of fraud/abuse.
Reorganisation of Delivery Systems Plan — Fee £10,225 (no payment made) — to assist in planning the implementation of the recommendations on the security review of payment systems, the localisation of the Department's services and related issues.
Estimating the level of fraud/abuse — Fee — £4,000 (paid) — to provide expert assistance on the selection and application of statistical sampling techniques.
Research — Fee — £2,860 (no payment made) — to carry out a review of the family income suppliement scheme.
— Fee — £13,600 (£8,450.40 paid to date) — to carry out an evaluation of pilot schemes for the unemployed.
Training-Standards — Fee — £91,600 (£18,445 paid to date) — on training and on the introduction of development techniques and standards for the computer division.
Treatment Benefits — £3,666 (paid) — for work on the implementation of the treatment benefit computer system.
Public Relations — £12,500 (£8,300 paid to date) — to provide public relations advice on various issues involving communication with the media and the public, and the preparation of information leaflets and publicity on various social welfare schemes.
Central Records — Fee — £5,850 (no payment made) — to assist on the conversion of tasks within the Central Records System to run under standard software.
— Fee — £11,250 (no payment made) — to develop a central client index on the central records system using expert system techniques.
INFOSYS (Computerised information system) — Fee — £14,850 (no payment made) — to develop an expert system to help with queries relating to eligibility for various benefits administered by the Department.
Social Insurance for the Self-employed — Fee £48,750 (no payment made) — to develop a computerised system for the registration of the self-employed for social insurance.
Computerisation of Employment Exchanges — Fee — £18,000 (no payment made) — to assist in the further development of the employment exchange computer system.