§ Mr. PriskTo ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many times the Better Regulation Task Force has met in the last year; what allowances from public funds are made available to members of the Better Regulation Task Force; and what the cost has been since the task force was established. [87608]
§ Mr. AlexanderThere were 10 meetings of the Better Regulation Task Force during the past year. Members of the task force are unpaid, but can claim reasonable travel and subsistence expenses. 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 the specific costs within this overall budget. But over the period from July 1999 to the end of November 2002, the administrative and running costs of the task force, covering staff salaries, printing and publication costs etc., have totalled approximately £1,422,000.