§ 15. Mr. SteenTo ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what improvements have been made to the regulatory framework by the Better Regulation Task Force in the last 12 months. [139191]
§ Mr. StringerA statement of the responses to Better Regulation Task Force's recommendations over the last 12 months is included in its third annual report.
Copies of the report, which was published in mid-October, have been sent to the Library of the House.
§ Mr. SteenTo ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if she will make a statement on the administrative and running costs of the Better Regulation Task Force in each of the last three years. [140834]
§ Mr. StringerThe administrative and running costs of the independent Better Regulation Task Force in each of the last three years are set out in the table.
670W
£ Financial year Administrative costs Running costs 1998–99 1— 58,000 1999–2000 2187,000 93,000 2000–01 3149,000 342,000 1 Not available 2 For the nine months July-March 2000 3 For the six months April 2000-September 2000 Notes:
1. Administrative costs are here interpreted to mean staffing costs.
2. Running costs are here interpreted to mean ancillary costs such as printing of reviews, travel and subsistence, etc.
Before July 1999, when a dedicated support team was established, the administrative costs for the Task Force were met from within the budget of the Regulatory Impact Unit (and its predecessor) in the Cabinet Office. It is not possible to identify specific costs within this overall budget.