§ Mr. Eggarasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, further to his answer to the hon. Member for Stirling (Mr. Forsyth) of 17 January, Official Report, columns 187–8, what are the differences in the departmental facility agreements which lead to the sharply differing cost of those agreements as a percentage of the departmental wages bill.
§ Mr. Hayhoe:The national agreement on facilities provides the framework for departmental facilities agreements, not all of which were fully operational at the time of the last costings review. This factor, together with the varying levels of union membership, staff representation and consultative machinery within Departments, together with the varying number of sites involved, account for the differences in the cost of facilities expressed as a percentage of departmental wage bills. My officials are reviewing with Departments the effectiveness of the 1982 national agreement with the objective of achieving the maximum possible degree of consistency by bringing these where the costs are highest more in line with the rest.