§ Mr. Sean HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the organisational and financial differences between defence support agencies run on next steps lines and next steps executive agencies such as the Defence Research Agency and the Meteorological Office.
§ Mr. NeubertOrganisationally the main difference will lie in the relationship between the chief executive and the Minister. In the case of next steps executive agencies, the chief executive is personally and directly accountable to the Minister, for his or her performance. This is the relationship which will apply in the cases of, for instance, the Meteorological Office and the Defence Research Agency.
Other defence support organisations must, however, remain fully embedded within the defence chain of command, for the reasons that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence gave in the House of Commons on 18 October, column 155. In these cases, the chief executive will be accountable to Ministers, through the chain of command.
In most other respects it will not be possible to differentiate the characteristics of defence support agencies from the normal next step agencies. The aim of both is to secure improved management and better results. Each agency will have different requirements and the policy and resources framework in each case will be tailored to the individual circumstances of the organisation concerned.