§ Mr. SproatTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress she has made in achieving the target of a reduction of 1.5 per cent. in her Department's running costs for the present financial year, in the first half of this financial year; and what specifically has been saved, by what means and in what areas of her responsibility.
§ Mr. Sackville[holding answer 1 December 1992]: All parts of the Department are required to contribute towards the target for increased efficiency through measures aimed at cash-releasing savings or improved productivity. These are taken into account at the outset when budget allocations are made at the start of each year. For 1992–93 the Department plans to achieve efficiency gains totalling 1.4 per cent. Taken with the 1.7 per cent. gains achieved last year this more than meets the average target of 1.5 per cent. each year. The planned savings this year are made up of £1.2 million on manpower, £1.8 million on non-manpower costs and £0.6 million on the London paybill as a result of the first phase of the relocation to Leeds of the National Health Service 690W Management Executive. Further savings of £1.9 million are expected to be realised in 1992–93 (including on capital expenditure) through improved purchasing policies.
The Department's agencies (NHS Estates and the Medicines Control Agency) work to separate targets. These are monitored through the respective departmental boards and the latest quarterly reports for the agencies show that they are both on course to achieve their targets by the end of the year. The NHS Estates Agency is working to an efficiency target of 4 per cent. in 1992–93 through reductions in manpower costs, improvements in procurement and increased use of video-conferencing. The target for the Medicines Control Agency is to achieve increased productivity of 3 per cent.