Civil Service (Hansard, 2 May 2000)

§ Mr. Stringer

The planned average manpower figures for my Department and Agencies are detailed in table 6.4 (page 90) of the Cabinet Office's annual report to 87W Parliament (The Government's Expenditure Plans 2000–01 to 2001–02) (CM 4618) which was laid before Parliament on 10 April 2000

	1999–2000	2000–01	Change	Percentage
Cabinet Office	1,401	1,457	56	4.0
Security Facilities Division	426	136	-290	-68.1
Centre for Management and Policy Studies	240	284	44	18.3
Government Car and Despatch Agency	305	307	2	0.7
Total	2,372	2,184	-188	-7.9
Central Office of Information	361	400	39	10.8

The table in the annual report also included information on the Agencies that transferred to the new Office for Government Commerce (HM Treasury) on 1 April.

The reasons for the planned 4 per cent. increase in manpower in the central groups of the Cabinet Office, include: The establishment of the new Office of the e-Envoy to co-ordinate the Government in leading the UK in its drive to be the best place in the world for e-commerce. The development of the Regulatory Reform Bill which was announced in the Queen's Speech and published on 18 April 2000. The need to find ways to reduce the regulatory burden on the public sector. Four key areas have been identified, Criminal Justice, Health (GPs), Education (Schools) and local authorities. A small additional resource to drive through the Civil Service Reform programme—in particular, a new Mobility Unit to broker interdepartmental moves. The new Senior Adviser on Diversity and Equal Opportunities. And support to the new House of Lords Appointments Commission. The development of excellence in public sector websites by developing and implementing the Government Website Guidelines under the E-Government Strategy. Including the development and management of the Citizen Portal programme. Additional policy development work arising from the publication of the E-government strategy and the need to embed its provisions and the development of e-business strategies across government and the wider public sector. Specialist project management teams to supervise a series of cross-cutting technical projects to be funded by the Capital Modernisation Fund. These projects include the development of gateway and portal facilities to support UK Online and to develop the range of services available and wider interoperability on the Government Secure Intranet business solutions, handling public inquiries and correspondence, IT services, etc.) More effective support to Cabinet Committee business, and to continue the Cabinet Committee business, and to continue the Cabinet Secretariat's traditional role of supporting policy development by Cabinet and Cabinet Committees.

The reduction of 68 per cent. in the planned manpower at the Security Facilities Division is due to the continued run down of this former Agency. The major reduction is due to the contracting out of the Custody Services, the transfer of Assessment and Development Staff to the Home Office and a reduction in Special Services Group (Operations).

88W

Between the years 1999–2000 and 2000–01 these show the following planned changes to be:

The Centre for Management and Policy Studies (CMPS) was formed in 1999–2000 and its manpower was only planned to be fully established with the merger of the Civil Service College from 1 April 2000. The new functions provided by CMPS from this year will include: Ministers' Programmes: the design and delivery of induction and development opportunities for Ministers. Corporate Development Strategy: the creation and implementation of a strategy for the development of senior civil servants, with an expanded range of programmes. Departmental Peer Review: reviews of Government departments by external teams of departments. Policy Seminars: the design and delivery of joint seminars with Ministers and senior officials to examine policy issues. Policy Evaluation: the identification and promotion of best practice in the construction, development and implementation of policy. Policy Research: the design and production of 'Knowledge Pools', drawing together the evidence on which policy is based from diverse sources. Policy Resource Centre: delivering an entry point to a government wide knowledge centre drawing upon departmental resources. Knowledge Network project; the design and delivery of a system to deliver fast, accurate flows of knowledge, facts and figures on policy across government.

The number of staff are increasing at the Central Office of Information due to significant increases in the volume of work. The numbers of staff reflect the increased business levels over the last two years. Manpower resources have been trailing behind this increase and the forecast for 2000–01 therefore assumes a similar level of increased business.