§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff were seconded from the private sector to his Department in(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. [103606]
§ Mr. Straw[holding answer 21 December 1999]: Secondments 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.
470WFor the periods in question, two private sector staff are recorded as having been seconded to my Department. One was from Barclay's Bank between January 1997 to January 1999 and the other is from PriceWaterhouseCoopers for 12 months from 4 August 1999. Other inward secondments of three months or more recorded centrally in the above periods, were predominantly from local government, the health service, and the European Union.