Dawn Primarolo, has answered a written question relating to the costs of the delayed implementation of the 'NIRS2' computer system this week. The Paymaster General revealled that the extra costs resulting from the delayed implementation total more than £40m to date!

Two technology giants, Compaq and Hewlett Packard, have revealed plans for a £14 billion merger, in an apparent attempt to consolidate to overcome the general downturn in the technology market. Up to 15,000 jobs could be lost a result of the merger (approx. 10% of the combined workforce). Hewlett Packard hit the headlines recently when it was revealed that IT contractors working for the company would be subjected to a 10% across the board pay cut.