HC Deb 13 February 1991 vol 185 cc482-3W
Dr. Marek

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made towards establishing Her Majesty's Customs and Excise and the Inland Revenue as "next steps" agencies.

Mr. Norman Lamont

[pursuant to the reply, 31 January 1991, c. 573]: On 25 July 1990 my predecessor announced that changes would be made in Her Majesty's Customs and Excise to enable it to operate fully on "next steps" lines, columns 239–41. The key element of these changes is that 30 commands performing the bulk of the Department's operational and service activities will become executive units. These include the 21 regional collections, the investigation division and certain units at present organised as headquarters divisions.

The head of each unit will be appointed by the chairman of Customs and Excise and will be more personally accountable for the performance of the unit against agreed plans and targets, in return for substantial new freedoms to manage and innovate. This will increase the direct involvement of the head of the unit and all its staff in the tasks to be done, and improve their effectiveness and their personal satisfaction in the unit's achievements. I expect these changes to lead to further advances in the efficiency of the units and the Department as a whole, and the quality of service provided.

These changes are set out in the framework document for the Department, "Next Steps: A Framework for Her Majesty's Customs and Excise", which has been published today, together with framework documents for East Midlands and Manchester collections and the VAT central unit, as the first three in the series of executive unit framework documents which describe the responsibilities, freedoms and accountabilities in individual units. The departmental framework document contains a programme of action which includes the introduction of significant additional personnel and financial freedoms over the next two to three years. Copies have been placed in the Library.

Framework documents for the remaining executive units will be published before the House rises for the Easter recess. The arrangements proposed for executive units will take effect from 1 April 1991.