§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is her estimate of the savings which will result from the changes introduced into the organisational and regional structures of the Roads Service on the 1 April for the present financial year and the following two years; and to what use such savings will be put. [81159]
§ Mr. Paul Murphy[holding answer 16 April 1999]Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Roads Service under its chief executive designate, Mr. C Jones. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from C. James to Mr. William Ross, dated April 1999
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has asked me to respond to your recently tabled Parliamentary Question about the reorganisation of Roads Service.Like all public bodies, there is continuing pressure on Roads Service to make the best use of resources available to us. Since we were formed as an Agency in 1996, we have been committed to a programme of improving efficiency but have reached a point where further meaningful efficiencies could not be achieved without a reorganisation of our overall business. This reorganisation, which was introduced on 1 April 1999, was designed to provide a structure, comprising separate business units, which will enable us to focus more directly on how we can continue to deliver our services as efficiently as possible.The main purpose of the reorganisation was, therefore, to provide a platform for future efficiencies and was not specifically geared to producing immediate savings. The reorganisation, by creating separate business units, will enable us to assess more effectively how efficient our work processes are compared to external organisations with a view to achieving further efficiency gains in future years.I hope you find this information helpful.