§ Bob SpinkTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his policy is for(a) increasing the productivity and (b) cutting; he costs of (i) his Department and (ii) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies. [172179]
§ Mr. PearsonThe NIO is committed to delivering the Government's policy on efficiencies of 2.5per cent. a year over the SR2004 period. This policy is applicable to the core Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies.
The same focus on promoting efficiency will apply to the 11 Departments of the Northern Ireland Administration, with a target for annual efficiency gains of at least 2.5 per cent. applying to Departments, and other public bodies funded by them, over the SR 2004 period. This will be a central theme to the Northern Ireland Priorities and Budget process, which will conclude with the publication in December 2004 of the Government's spending and efficiency plans. As a starting point, the departments have been asked to draw up plans for efficiency gains, with measures to include a combination of productivity gain; and cost reductions that will free up resources to be redeployed to priority front line public services.