§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what the target has been in each of the last five years for efficiency savings as a percentage of total running costs for each of the non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible; and if the target was met. [49642]
§ Mr. WillsOf the non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) for which the Department is responsible, the majority are Advisory or Tribunal NDPBs which we support directly, not through a grant or grant in aid. Targets for efficiency savings specifically for these NDPBs would therefore not be possible as their staff are not distinct from the main Department and cannot therefore be targeted separately.
The Department is responsible for three Executive NDPBs: the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS), the Legal Services Commission (LSC) and the Office of the Information Commissioner.
CAFCASS was established only in April 2001, and it would therefore not yet be appropriate to set targets for efficiency savings. It is planned that CAFCASS will have a performance measure from 2003–04.
860WInformation about the performance of the LSC can be found it its most recent annual report, which is available in the House Library.
The Information Commissioner does not set targets for efficiency savings in relation to savings as a percentage of total running costs. She sets a target for efficiency savings in three areas of the work of her office:
The number of weighted notification transactions processed per officer day;The number of assessments completed and complaints closed per officer day; andThe number of telephone calls received per line hour.In each case productivity gains of 2 per cent. have been included within the target, which is set to take account of changes in legislation and working practices. Performance against these targets over the last five years for which figures are available is shown in the following tables.
Data for the Office of the Information Commissioner Actual Target Target met/missed Weighted notification transactions processed per officer day 1996–97 49.37 46.26 Met 1997–98 51.32 46.71 Met 1998–99 48.74 50.88 Missed 1999–2000 47.02 55.64 Missed 2000–01 52.48 50.76 Met Assessments completed and complaints closed per officer day 1996–97 0.82 0.81 Met 1997–98 0.81 0.82 Missed 1998–99 0.79 0.86 Missed 1999–2000 0.74 0.92 Missed 2000–01 0.87 0.92 Missed Number of telephone calls received per line hour 1996–97 11.75 11.75 Met 1997–98 11.77 11.81 Missed 1998–99 8.80 12.25 Missed 1999–2000 8.72 8.80 Missed 2000–01 9.06 8.82 Met Note:
These figures are drawn from the annual reports of the Information Commissioner (previously the Data Protection Commissioner and Data Protection Registrar), which are available in the Library of the House.