§ Dr. CunninghamTo ask the Prime Minister what is the total amount of planned expenditure funded by the Exchequer for the promotion and advertising of "The Citizen's Charter" White Paper.
§ The Prime MinisterThe estimated cost is likely to be in the order of £916,000. This includes the costs of producing, advertising and distributing the popular version of the White Paper. The costs for printing, publishing and distributing the White Paper—Cm 1599—were met by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, which aims to recover its costs from sales revenue.
§ Mr. Andrew BowdenTo ask the Prime Minister when he proposes to complete the appointment of a panel of advisers on the citizens charter initiative; and if he will list the individuals who have so far agreed to serve on that panel.
§ The Prime MinisterI have appointed six members to the citizens charter advisory panel to serve under the chairmanship of Sir James Blyth. They are Mr. Christopher Bland, Dr. Nancy Lane, Dr. Madsen Pirie, Mr. Christopher Swan, Mr. Stan Webster and Lady Judith Wilcox.
§ Mr. SpearingTo ask the Prime Minister if he will list those proposals in the citizens charter for which new legislation will be necessary.
§ The Prime MinisterLegislation will be needed to extend the powers of the Audit Commission and require local authorities to respond to auditors' reports; to extend compulsory competitive tendering; to require regular independent inspection of schools and the publication of information about the performance of all schools; to require lay members independent of local education authorities to be appointed to appeals tribunals; to give the citizen a right to challenge unlawful industrial action affecting public services; to extend delegation in the civil service and deal with the problems relating to technical8W redundancy; to privatise British Rail; to deregulate London buses; to change arrangements for the provision of motorway service areas; to limit the Post Office monopoly, establish a new regulator for postal services and give the Secretary of State powers to set standards and targets; to bring the powers to set and ensure service standards of the regulators of the privatised utilities up to the standards of the strongest; and to make other smaller changes to the law, for example allowing juries considering their verdict to go home overnight.