§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence which of the services of his Department have not been reviewed under the Better Quality Services Initiative; and when they will be reviewed. [50315]
§ Dr. MoonieThe Better Quality Services (BQS) programme was launched in 1998 and adopted by the Cabinet Office in the Modernising Government White Paper of 1999 as a means of delivering continuous improvements in the quality and effectiveness of Government activities and services. It requires all Government Departments to review every activity and service over a five year period starting in October 1999. The scheme covers all activities in Departments, agencies and executive non-departmental public bodies, and is similar in remit to the Best Value programme in local government.
The Ministry of Defence is committed to the regular and rigorous review of its business activities. BQS is one of a range of approaches we have taken to achieve this. Progress against our BQS programme has been published in our departmental performance reports. As at the end of March 2001, over 70 per cent. of the plan had been completed. The activities then outstanding were largely small-scale management reviews, possible public-private partnerships, retendering of service contracts and reviews of individual agencies. Our next departmental performance report, in the autumn, will give further information on our business improvement programme.