§ Mr. WatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the estimated administrative cost was of the merger of the Departments of the Environment and Transport in 1997. [1430]
§ Dr. WhiteheadThe costs and benefits of the merger in 1997 of the Department of the Environment and the Department of Transport were set out in the DETR Merger Group Report published by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions in August 1997. Estimates of expenditure, including those elements designed to modernise the working methods and service delivery of the new Department and to take advantage of best practice, for example in IT and financial management systems, are set out in the table.
Expenditure area £ million Measures to link office automation systems 0.1–0.2 Measures to move to a single office automation system 3–6 Measures to move to a single financial management and accounting system 6–9 Conversion of parts of an HQ building to provide flexibility 0.35 Measures to co-locate Ministers and supporting staff 0.2 Co-location of Finance divisions 0.05 Co-location of Personnel divisions 0.05–0.08