§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Prime Minister what has been the cost of his Office for each year from 1997 to date; and what is the estimated expenditure for 2000–01. [126504]
§ The Prime Minister[holding answer 20 June 2000]: Before coming to office the Government clearly set out its aim to have a strong strategic centre of government.
Since May 1997, some of the administrative burdens on my office have greatly increased. For example, extra staff have had to be employed to deal with over 500,000 items of correspondence received by my office in the last year—an 84 per cent. increase over the previous year. This compares with an estimated 25,000 items received annually five years ago.
The actual costs of my office were £6.9 million from 1 May 1997 to 31 March 1998; £8.7 million in 1998–99 and £10.4 million in 1999–2000.