§ Dr. BrandTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list the private sector companies from which secondments have been made to his Department since June 1997. [133870]
§ Mr. Chris SmithI refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Bath (Mr. Foster) on 28 July 2000,Official Report, column 1102W.
Secondments and attachments are part of the Interchange Initiatives which promote the exchange of people and good practice between the Civil Service and other organisations. Before an Interchange can occur all parties must be satisfied that no conflict of interest arises.