HC Deb 27 March 1991 vol 188 cc414-5W
Mr. Gwilym Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement about the performance targets he is setting for 1991–92 in relation to the establishment of CADW: the Welsh Historic Monuments executive agency.

Sir Wyn Roberts

CADW: Welsh Historic Monuments will formally become an executive agency under the "next steps" initiative on 1 April this year. It is responsible for the discharge of the Secretary of State's statutory functions relating to the preservation, protection andmaintenance of ancient monuments, historic buildings and conservation areas within Wales.

The chief executive will be personally responsible for achieving improvements in efficiency, effectiveness and in customer services. To enable him to exercise that responsibility, my right hon. Friend has made delegationsof authority to him, which are set out in the agency's framework document, which defines the respective rolesand responsibilities of the agency chief executive, the Welsh Office and the Secretary of State for Wales. I have arranged for copies to be placed in the Library of the House.

Each year we shall be setting demanding financial and service targets for CADW. The targets set for its first year of operation as an agency, financial year 1991–92, are as follows:

A. Conservation/preservation

  1. (i) Completion to time and within cost of 85 per cent. of priority conservation projects identified in the quinquennial review of properties in care.
  2. (ii) Notification to applicants of decisions on Historic Buildings Council grant applications within 18 weeks of receipt in 85 per cent. of cases.
  3. (iii) Determination of 75 per cent. of scheduled monument consent cases within 90 days.
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  4. (vi) Determination of 75 per cent. of listed building consent referrals in 28 days; 90 per cent. within 60 days.
  5. (v) Complete 12 historic building listing re-surveys in the year, where each re-survey covers one or more community districts.
  6. (vi) Decide on 30 ancient monuments within the scheduling enhancement programme in the year. This programme is rationalising the existing schedule of ancient monuments and identifying representative samples of different monument classes for scheduling.

B. Presentation

  1. (vii) Generate increase in receipts to £2.76 million from the 1990–91 forecast outturn of £2.4 million.
  2. (viii) Maintain overall market share of the top 20 heritage sites in Wales at 66.6 per cent., which represents about 1.4 million visitors to CADW sites.

C. Administration

  1. (ix) Operate within allocated programme and running cost budgets.
  2. (x) Generate a 1.5 per cent. efficiency improvement against gross running costs covering all of the agency's operations.

Performance against these targets will be assessed in the agency's annual report which we will lay before the House as soon as possible after the year end.

CADW remains part of the Welsh Office, and my right hon. Friend will remain accountable to this House for CADW. Where hon. or right hon. Members have queries about matters relating to the operations of CADW I hope that they will write in the first instance to the chief executive at Brunel house, 2 Fitzalan road, Cardiff CF2 1UY. If Members remain dissatisfied after receiving a reply from CADW they will be able to raise the issue with my right hon. Friend. We will, of course, continue to deal with questions of policy and the provision of resources.

The Secretary of State approved the appointment of Mr. John Carr, the current director of CADW, as the chief executive of the agency for the next three years. We wish the chief executive and his staff every success for the future. I am confident that the enhanced responsibilities which they have will enable them to meet their objectives in respect of the built heritage of Wales while giving better value for money.