§ Miss McIntoshTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the role and performance of the Defence Analytical Services Agency. [173936]
§ Mr. IngramThe role of the Defence Analytical Services Agency (DASA) is to provide economic and statistical information, analysis and advice to the Ministry of Defence and to provide Parliament, other Government Departments and the public with defence-related statistics and analytical information.
DASA's main products and services are:
defence National Statistics (available at www.dasa.mod.uk);statistics, analysis and interpretation on a wide range of defence activity for use within MOD (personnel, financial, logistics, commercial, health, and equipment);forecasting to support the Department's financial and personnel planning appraisal and evaluation policy, scrutiny and advice to support the Department's investment decisions;and consultancy services, advice and research including modelling, economic and statistical analyses, surveys and problem solving.More detail about DASA can be found on its website.
In 2003–04 DASA met seven out of its eight key targets. In addition, DASA met the work-life balance standard (a key target carried over from 2002–03) and won the National Council for Work Experience award in the public sector category for the quality of the placements it offers to students. Further information on DASA's performance will be contained in DASA's Annual Report and Accounts which are due to be laid before Parliament before the summer recess.