§ Mr. George HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who is conducting the study of the relationship between the Prison Service and the Home Office; if he will list their qualifications for carrying out the study; what is the cost of the study; and when he expects to report the findings of the study. [384]
§ Miss WiddecombeMy right hon. and learned Friend told the House on 16 October that work was under way in response to General Sir John Learmont's recommendation that this should be an in-depth study of the relationship between the Prison Service and the Home Office. The initial work has been assisted by Miss Kate Jenkins, who was one of the three authors of the 1988 efficiency unit report to my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, "Improving Management in Government: The Next Steps", which recommended the establishment of executive agencies. My right hon. and learned Friend has given an undertaking to report to the House when the work is complete. Information on the costs of individual contracts with consultants is commercial in confidence and it is not our practice to disclose these details.