§ Mr. John Pageasked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional 124W Development 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, etc., for use in the Public Service published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office.
§ Mr. D. PriceSo far as I can immediately ascertain, for internal use about 130; for external use not less than 1,300. The majority of the former are included in the List but the latter, which are peculiar to my Department, are not.
§ Mr. John Pageasked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development 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. D. PriceThe Board of Trade have had its own Organisation and Methods Section since 1945. This Section relies upon the Treasury Organisation and Methods Section to provide basic training for its officers, avails itself of its advice and information, and at times undertakes joint enquiries with it into Board of Trade problems. The Board has not so far found it necessary to use outside management consultants.