This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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PC leasing scheme for public sector staff
22/06/2004
The Home Computer Initiative was launched today, which
will enable employers to provide loans of computers to
employees for personal use. Staff in the participating
public sector organisations will be able to lease PCs at
affordable prices and will be able to spread costs over a
longer period.
The Scottish Executive is establishing the scheme on
behalf of the entire Scottish public sector. On completion,
the Executive will be rolling out the scheme to its own
employees and will encourage all other Scottish public
sector bodies to participate.
The price paid by employees will be reduced through a
tax concession. This concession is already available to the
private sector and this initiative will ensure public
sector workers enjoy similar benefits.
Speaking at the Delivering Better Services conference in
Glasgow today, Finance and Public Services Minister
Andy Kerr said:
"Once the Home Computer Initiative is in place, all
public sector organisations in Scotland will be able to
call on any or all of the chosen suppliers - there will be
several available - without the need to carry out further
tendering exercises.
"Participating staff will be able to select equipment
that is right for them from as wide a range as possible,
including adaptive equipment for those with disabilities,
allowing many people and their families to benefit from
affordable technology in their own homes.
"We know this scheme will be popular as it is about
choice, accessibility, and inclusion - the key themes of
our modernising agenda. I look forward to its
implementation across Scotland."
Grahame Smith, Assistant Secretary of the Scottish
Trades Union Congress, welcomed the announcement of the
Home Computer Initiative:
"Promoting lifelong learning opportunities is a key
priority for the STUC. By increasing public sector workers'
access to computers at home, we expect that this welcome
new Executive initiative will make a significant
contribution in this area."
Depending on the specifications of equipment chosen,
employees might pay between £10 and £20 a month for a PC,
but exact prices will depend on the final contractual
arrangements with suppliers. They will have access to
training and technical support over the period of the lease
and would also have the opportunity to buy the equipment
when the agreement ends. The initiative is likely to
commence in early autumn 2004.
The aim of the Home Computer Initiative is to contribute
to the increase the take-up of PCs by households in
Scotland. The arrangement will be confined to Scottish
public sector employers and their employees. The
arrangement will allow Scottish public sector employers to
lease PCs, software and peripherals for home use by their
employees. Around 400,000 employees could be eligible to
participate.
The price paid by employees will be reduced through a
tax concession. The 1999 Finance Act introduced a £500
annual exemption from the taxable benefit of computers
loaned by employers to their employees for home use (see
http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/taxagenda/ecom1.htm#n12).
This, when combined with a salary sacrifice arrangement
between employer and employees, provides a framework which
allows employees to make significant cost savings on
acquiring a PC. An employer can lend up to £2,500 worth of
equipment for home use to an employee free of tax. The UK
Government has taken steps to raise awareness of the tax
exemption and has produced explanatory documentation and
implementation guidelines for employers (see
http://www.knowledgenetwork.gov.uk/oee/hci.nsf/0/F374136D3AD2881680256E0F0041F296?OpenDocument).
The Home Computer Initiative will involve contractual
arrangements under which a number of suppliers would be
eligible to supply suitable PC leasing schemes to public
sector organisations. The leasing schemes will need to be
constructed so that they are entirely compliant with the
requirements of the 1999 Finance Act, and Inland Revenue
rules governing salary sacrifice schemes. Such schemes are
already operated by a number of private sector
organisations for their employees.
Given that the needs of employees will vary
significantly, suppliers will be required to make a broad
range of computer equipment, software and peripheral
devices available, including adaptive equipment for
disabled people. The computer equipment available will
need to include low cost entry level PCs. The provision of
high quality technical support to the employee's home will
also be a key element of the contract.
The Scottish Executive, and its agencies and NDPBs, all
local authorities, and all health boards in Scotland will
be eligible to participate in the scheme. It is a decision
for each organisation if they wish to participate, but the
majority of employees within each participating
organisation will be able to take part. Lease agreements
will be constructed so as to minimise the administrative
and support burdens for employers. At the end of the
leasing period, the employee will have the option to buy
the equipment for a fair price based on its residual value
at that time.