§ Mr. MansTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what performance targets have been set for the Hydrographic Office defence support agency for the financial year 1992–93.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe Chief of Fleet Support, acting as the owner of the agency on behalf of my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Defence under the terms of the agency's framework document, has revised the key targets for this year and beyond. These reflect the continuing need to secure economies in defence spending and the progress already made by the agency towards meeting those targets set at the time of its launch as a DSA in April 1990 and since.
On quality of service, the chief executive is required to continue to ensure that all immediate dangers are promulgated by radio navigational warnings within 20 hours of the receipt of information. He is also required to improve the state of revision of Admiralty navigational charts so that at 1 April 1993 73 per cent. will have been published within the past 30 years and 68 per cent. will have been revised within the past 10 years. The chief executive is also required to deliver funded RN hydrographic and oceanographic programmes to agreed cost, time and quality standards.
As regards commercial sales, the existing target to increase the revenue from commercial sales by at least 13 per cent. over the first five years of the operation of the agency will remain in force.
As regards an overall efficiency target to which the above key targets and other targets in the agency's business plan will contribute, the assumption will be that the disciplines of the "next steps" approach and the additional freedoms and flexibilities which agencies receive will allow them to do better in terms of efficiency than the rest of the Department. The chief executive is, therefore, being required to achieve an efficiency target of 3.5 per cent.—this is 1 per cent. higher than the 1992–93 target set for the Department as a whole. Additionally, the chief executive will be required to operate within the net cash allocation, which assumes achievement of those targets, as provided by the Chief of Fleet Support under the terms of his role as the agency's owner. Key targets were set at the time of the launch in April 1990 regarding the development of an improved management information and management accounting system. The implementation of the target in respect of the financial and management accounting information system will be completed early in 1992–93 and the target for the installation of a fully integrated IT-supported management information system by 1 April 1994 remains in force.