§ Mr. Ben ChapmanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how much money has been(a) offered to and (b) taken up by the Mersey Partnership from public funds over each of the last five years; and from what sources. [129598]
§ Ms Beverley HughesPublic funds offered to and administered by the Merseyside Partnership in the last five years are as follows.
622WKnaresborough (Mr. Willis), of 9 February 2000, Official Report, column 158W, on secondments, if he will give the names, grades and job titles of the staff seconded into his Department from each organisation mentioned, stating in each case the name of the section they were seconded to and a summary of the work that they were involved with. [128248]
§ Ms Beverley Hughes[holding answer 29 June 2000]: Secondments and attachments are part of the Interchange Initiative, which promotes the exchange of people and good practice between the Civil Service and other organisations. All sectors of the economy are involved: Voluntary, Education, Health, Public and Private. Interchange is a key component of the reform agenda. The Modernising Government White Paper committed us to increasing interchange, in particular by bringing in more people on secondment and seconding more of our people out. Before an Interchange can occur, all parties must be satisfied that no conflict of interest arises.
From the organisations cited in the answer of 9 February 2000, Official Report, column 158W, individuals seconded in to the Department worked in the following divisions or areas, at the grades indicated.
£ Year Objective 1 Merseyside Development Corporation Contribution Fund Membership contributions1 Totals 1995–96 609 — 415 1,024 1996–97 543 — 415 958 1997–98 605 — 412 1,017 1998–99 869 689 406 1,964 1999–2000 783 2781 382 1,946 1Membership contributions included local authorities, Merseyside TEC, English Partnership etc. and represent voluntary contributions as part of the partnership agreement 2Residual value of fund £155,000