§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how much her Department estimates it cost to establish each executive agency associated with her Department. [16965]
§ Mr. Robin SquireThe Employment Service is the executive agency associated with the Department for Education and Employment. The Teachers Pensions Agency was an agency until it was contractorised in October 1996. The cost of setting up these agencies can be calculated only at disproportionate cost and would, in any case, be marginal when set against their overall budgets.
Both the Employment Service and the Teachers Pensions Agency carried out broadly the same functions before they become agencies. Therefore, although no actual figures are available, the cost of setting up these agencies is likely to have been marginal. The benefits in 553W setting up these organisations as agencies can be seen in their clearer roles and responsibilities and in the freedom to meet targets they are set by Ministers and the successful performance against those targets.