§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff from his Department were seconded to private sector companies in(a) May 1997 to April 1998, (b) May 1998 to April 1999 and (c) May 1999 to April 2000; and if he will list in each case the companies to which staff were sent, the names and ranks of the staff involved and the duration of the secondment.[123424]
§ Ms Stuart[holding answer 24 May 2000]: 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. 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.
127WCentral records are held on the following secondments to the private sector which commenced in the years shown in the table.
Date Number Details May 1997-April 1998 2 Howard Bloom, SCS, to Sema Group for 5 years Mr. W. Flynn, 1P4 to Dawn til Dusk Plc for 1 year May 1998-April 1999 0 No secondments, according to central records May 1999-April 2000 1 Robert Newton, IP3 to Federal Mogul for 6 months