§ Mr. WillisTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff were seconded from the private sector to his Department from (a) May 1997 to April 1998, (b) May 1998 to April 1999 and (c) May 1999 to the latest date for which figures are available, stating in each case the companies from which staff have been seconded. [109073]
§ Ms StuartSecondments and attachments are part of the Interchange Initiative which promotes the exchange of people and good practice between the Civil Service and other organisations. All sectors of the economy are involved: Voluntary, Education, Health, Public and Private. Interchange is a key component of the reform agenda. The Modernising Government White Paper committed us to increasing interchange, in particular by bringing in more people on secondment and sending more of our people out.
Central records are held on the following secondments from the private sector which commenced in the years shown:
Year Number Companies seconded from May 1997-April 1998 6 Private Finance Panel Executive (2) Tarmac plc Nabarro Nathanson Pinsent Curtis Rawlings Ophthalmic Opticians May 1998-April 1999 6 Hempsons Price WaterhouseCoopers Ward Hadaway Beachcroft Stanleys Dickinson Dees Lloyds Bank May 1999 to date 6 Addleshaw Booth and Company Beriwin Leighton Taylor Woodrow Deloitte and Touche Herbert Smith British Airways