§ Mr. PicklesTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister when the Regional Co-ordination Unit was established. [138131]
§ Yvette CooperThe Regional Co-ordination Unit was set up in the summer of 2000 following the publication of the Performance and Innovation Unit Report, "Reaching Out—The Role Of Central Government At Regional And Local Level".
§ Mr. PicklesTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many research projects the Regional Co-ordination Unit(a) plans to commission in 2003–04 and (b) commissioned in 2002–03; and what the rationale for each project was. [138134]
§ Yvette CooperThe Regional Co-ordination Unit (RCU) currently has no plans to commission any research in 2003–04.
In 2002–03, the following research was commissioned:
a study of staff appraisal to see if there are any subjective differences in the way appraisals are carried out on staff of different gender, ethnicity or disability; anda report into "Incorporating Regional Perspectives into Policy Making". This was commissioned jointly by the RCU and the Cabinet Office Strategy Unit to investigate ways in which central Departments and the Government Offices could better work together to develop policy.