§ Mr. Lathamasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will make a statement on the effect on his Department of the financial management initiative.
§ Mr. ButcherThe Department has introduced a large number of reforms aimed at increasing efficiency and achieving better value for money since the FMI was launched in 1982. In the early stages the reforms could be clearly attributed to the FMI, but with the passage of time, and consistent with the main thrust of the FMI, its effects144W have become increasingly indistinguishable from the Department's improvements in management and value for money generally.
The Department has achieved a more structured approach to decision taking through the annual activity and resource management review, greater attention to evaluation and the widespread adoption of work programmes, objectives and targets which are approved by DTI Ministers. Greater and better management awareness of costs has been secured by the establishment of responsibility cost centres, deputy secretary running cost budgets, the provision of management information systems, more comprehensive training, and the introduction of performance measures where practicable.