Francis Maude, Minister for the Cabinet Office, Backs Open Source Software.

In response to a recent question by Tom Watson, former Cabinet Minister, Francis Maude made the following statement, indicating the government is more determined to advocate and use open source software.

"The Government believe that departmental websites should be hubs for debate as well as information-where people come together to discuss issues and address challenges-and that this should be achieved efficiently and, whenever possible using open source software. Any future development of websites run by the Cabinet Office will be assessed and reviewed against these criteria."

He also added that the government would set a precedent by using these guidelines when reviewing any updates or development needed to its websites.