§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list all performance targets set for his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies since May 1997, other than those listed in Public Service Agreements 1999–2002 [Cm 4181], stating in each case(a) the target to be reached and (b) the date by which it was to be reached. [94976]
§ Mr. Rooker[holding answer 1 November 1999]: The Department has set out the key performance targets on which it will be judged in its PSA, and the measures of success it will use in the Output and Performance Analyses (OPA) published in March this year.
In addition, the Secretary of State sets annual targets for the Department's agencies. These targets are announced to Parliament by means of a written Parliamentary Question. A full list of the targets and target dates for the Department's agencies can be found in the Next Steps Report and in individual agency Business Plans. Performance against targets is also reported in agencies' Annual Reports. Copies of these documents can be found in the Library.
These high level targets are supported at operational level by numerous other internal targets, in order to ensure delivery by individual units. Listing these targets would be inappropriate and would incur disproportionate cost.