§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of the costs of administering the payroll in his Department and associated agencies in the last 12 months for which figures are available.[135995]
§ Mr. Rooker[holding answer 1 November 2000]: The annual cost of administering the Department's integrated pay, personnel and expenses system was £8.3 million 1999–2000. This will reduce to £4.9 million per annum from January 2001 due to restructuring of payroll and expenses services as part of the Department drive to refocus resources on the front-line services.