HC Deb 18 November 2003 vol 413 c808W
Mr. Pickles

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many full-time equivalent employees were employed in the Regional Co-ordination Unit(a) when it was first established and (b) in July. [138132]

Yvette Cooper

47 full time equivalent staff were employed by the Regional Co-ordination Unit (RCU) when it was first set up in summer 2000 to implement the conclusions of the Performance and Innovation Unit's "Reaching Out" report. Since then the unit has expanded, taking on new roles including business coordination and knowledge management, while the network of sponsors has increased from three to 10. In July 2003 there were 65 full-time equivalent employees.