§ Mr. GeorgeTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy how much has been spent by his Department in each of the past five years on the evaluation of departmental programmes; and what proportion this constitutes of(a) the amount allocated for evaluation and (b) the Department's total budget.
§ Mr. ParkinsonThe Department regards evaluation as an important part of its programmes in order to ensure that value for money is being achieved and that the work and results are in accordance with the Department's objectives. This evaluation takes many forms, including486W internal reviews, market research, where appropriate, to measure programme effectiveness, reviews involving bodies like the advisory council on research and development and other external advisers, and reviews undertaken by or involving other parts of Government, for example, the Treasury, the Cabinet Office and interdepartmental reviews.
Evaluation is encouraged as an integral part of the Department's programmes and costs are included with those of individual programmes or are part of Departments' administrative costs. There are no separately identifiable figures for the costs of such evaluation over the past five years.