§ Mr. John Pageasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many different types of printed forms are used in his department for internal and external use, respectively; and whether all these forms are included in the List of Standard Books, Forms, &c., for use in the Public Service published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office.
§ Mr. NobleThe number of printed forms in use in my departments is 1,422 (476 for internal use and 946 for external use). One hundred and sixty of the forms for internal use and 23 of those for external use are included in the list of Standard Books, Forms, etc. published by H.M. Stationery Office.
§ Mr. John Pageasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he has taken to improve efficiency and reduce manpower by reorganising his Department with the help of the Treasury Organisation and Methods Section; what use his Department makes of outside management consultants; and what such action he is proposing in the near future.
§ Mr. NobleThere is a separate branch of the Treasury Organisation and Methods Division for the Scottish Departments which regularly examines organisation problems in the Scottish Office and has helped in the planning of two major reorganisations in recent years. It has not been found necessary to make use of outside management consultants.