§ Mr. LetwinTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many staff were employed by(a)the Inland Revenue and (b)HM Customs and Excise at 24 May; [176405]
(2) pursuant to his answer of 6 May 2004, Official Report, column 1737W, on efficiency gains, what the baseline employment figures in (a)the Inland Revenue and (b)HM Customs and Excise are for the job reductions listed. [176545]
§ John HealeyThe latest available employment figures for the Inland Revenue to and HM Customs and Excise are published in table 5.2 of the Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 2004 (Cm 6201).
§ Mr. LetwinTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what discussions he has had with Mr. David Varney regarding the timescale for the(a)commencement and (b)completion of the reduction of 14,000 civil servants in the Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise; and what the outcome of those discussions was; [176515]
(2) what targets he has given Mr. David Varney for the (a)commencement and (b)completion of the reduction of 14,000 civil servants in the Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise; [176516]
(3) pursuant to his answer of 6 May 2004, Official Report,column 1737W, on efficiency gains, when he expects the first of these job reductions to be made. [176544]
§ John HealeyDetailed plans for the realisation of efficiency savings are under discussion and agreed efficiency targets will be announced in Spending Review 2004.