§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what proposals he has for increasing the openness of decision making(a) in the national health service and (b) generally in 1995.
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However, it is a Department in its own right and its operations have never been conducted within any other department.In answer to your specific questions:COI has not acquired any new headquarters accommodation since its establishment as an Executive Agency; indeed, headquarters accommodation holdings have reduced by 1182.3 square metres (10.57%) between 1989/90 and 1993/94.No new support staff have been required. Staff costs fell by 14.47% between 1989/90 and 1993/94 without any reduction in the span of activities performed.COI publishes a house magazine "Inform", the primary function of which is staff communication. The current annual cost is £25,000.COI has no executive cars.The COI logo is updated from time to time. The last significant change was made in 1990 at a cost of £10,000.Appropriate clothing for Receptionists and Porter/Messengers has been provided since the Department was set up in 1946. Annual cost is less than £1000.As a Department COI has always had to provide its own stationery. Any necessary changes in design are introduced when new stocks are printed and additional costs are avoided.In the four years since COI became an Executive agency it has achieved efficiency savings of £56.4m (18.1%).I hope that this information meets your needs.