1901 Census Website

EDM number 631 in 2001-02, proposed by Edward Davey on 09/01/2002.

That this House notes the total failure of the 1901 Census website of the Public Record Office to cope with the demand from professional and amateur genealogists since its launch on 2nd January and the site's subsequent closure just days after the launch; is concerned that little notice appears to have been taken by either the Public Record Office or the contractor, Qinetiq, of the concerns expressed last year by genealogists about the planned website's abilities to cope with the expected demand; is further concerned that this failure has not only frustrated many British citizens and cost them money in terms of pointless connection charges but has also damaged this country's reputation in the eyes of the many thousands of citizens from other countries who have witnessed this fiasco; and therefore urges the Government to undertake an urgent and comprehensive review of this project to check that the budget for this project was a realistic one and that the Public Record Office specified the performance requirements of the site correctly and included appropriate penalty clauses in the contract, to confirm that the taxpayers' interests have been protected through implementation of any penalty clauses on the contractor and to put in place at the earliest possible date a website service for the 1901 Census which will meet the expectations raised for this service by the Public Record Office.

This motion has been signed by a total of 14 MPs.