§ 35. Mr. Harry GreenwayTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister what is the current staffing level of the Cabinet Office; and if he will make a statement. [39720]
§ Mr. HoramBy convention, the Office of Public Service, the Cabinet Office and CCTA, the Government Centre for Information Systems, are treated as one group, and staff currently number 1,298. That includes a large number of functions such as support for the Government Whips Office and the Opposition Whips Office.
§ Mr. GreenwayDoes my hon. Friend accept that the country is deeply impressed by the work of the Cabinet Office, save, in some respects, perhaps for the Opposition Whips Office? There is no doubt, however, that the money spent in the Cabinet Office is well spent, and the country is rightly grateful.
§ Mr. HoramI am grateful to my hon. Friend. It is good to hear those comments. It is also good to notice that the number of staff at the Department has declined since the reshuffle. We are definitely getting value for money.
§ Mr. MacShaneHas the Parliamentary Secretary read the excellent article by Sarah Hogg in the excellent new magazine "Prospect", in which she reveals that five Cabinet Ministers have no departmental duties, and do not have a job, except to poke their noses into the work of other hard-working Ministers? Would a sensibly run company allow a quarter of its executive board to have no real job but just to mess up other people's jobs? Should not the hon. Gentleman put the aging lion, his boss, out to grass as soon as possible?
§ Mr. HoramThe lack of departmental responsibilities does not, of course, apply to the Deputy Prime Minister, whose departmental responsibilities we have discussed today. I cannot comment otherwise on Sarah Hogg's article.