§ Baroness Park of Monmouthasked Her Majesty's Government:
(a) how many executive agencies have been created between 1992 and 1996 to replace or supplement parts of the core Civil Service; (b) how many such agencies have been privatised; and (c) what has been the cost of each privatisation.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Earl Howe)Ninety-one agencies have been launched between 1st January 1992 and 12th December 1996. However, none of them has replaced or supplemented parts of the Civil Service, as agencies are integral parts of the Civil Service, normally a part of a government department or in some cases a department in its own right.
Of the 91 agencies launched in this period, three have been privatised: DVOIT; the Transport Research Laboratory; and Chessington Computer Centre.
The cost of privatising DVOIT was £1.875 million, that of the Transport Research Laboratory was £1.4 million and that of Chessington Computer Centre was £630,000.
The Next Steps project to improve management in government by establishing executive agencies was launched in 1988. There are currently 129 agencies, with three-quarters of the Civil Service operating under Next Steps arrangements.