Mr. Andy StewartTo ask the Minister for the Civil Service what assessment he has made of the extent to which the objectives of the agency system are being fulfilled; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. LuceThe central aim of the "next steps" initiative is to improve management in the civil service, and so bring
734W
(a) These figures show excise and VAT on 20 cigarettes in the most popular price category as at 18 June 19901 Country RSP2 Factor cost3 Total duty4 VAT4 Total tax Total tax as percentage of RSP (pence) (pence) (pence) (pence) (pence) Belgium 114 32 76 6 82 72 Denmark 240 34 163 43 206 86 France 108 35 56 17 72 67 Germany 148 40 90 18 108 73 Greece 48 14 21 13 34 71 Ireland 187 50 102 35 136 73 Italy 90 25 51 14 66 72 Luxembourg 82 23 50 9 59 72 Netherlands 105 31 58 16 75 70 Portugal 60 15 36 9 45 75 about lasting improvements in the quality and efficiency of Government services. Each agency is set clear targets covering both efficiency and quality of service. and the results so far show that these targets are being met. As I told the House on 2 April, we propose to publish annually, starting later this year, a general report on the initiative overall including summaries of developments and results in individual agencies.