§ Mr. DobsonTo ask the Minister for the Civil Service how many agencies(a) have been set up over the past two years and (b) are currently expected to be set up.
§ Mr. Luce[holding answer 19 June 1990]: A total of 31 executive agencies employing 69,000 staff have been set up over the past two years, and a further 25 activities employing some 125,000 staff have been announced as candidates for agency status. Departments are currently considering how "next steps" might be applied to a range of other activities, and I would expect announcements to be made on a number of these in due course. The project manager anticipates a total of around 50 agencies established by the end of July next year, and I expect to see "next steps" applied to at least half the civil service by the end of 1991, with still further progress after that.