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Performance and Innovation Unit
4. Mr. Christopher Chope (Christchurch): What action she has taken, pursuant to the report of the performance and innovation unit about cross-cutting in Government. [112258]
The Minister for the Cabinet Office (Marjorie Mowlam): Action is being taken on the report, "Wiring it up: Accountability and Incentives for Joined-up Government", and implementation will be monitored by the modernising government project board, chaired by the permanent secretary in the Cabinet Office. My right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and I will report on progress across the whole broad front early next year.
Mr. Chope: Does not last week's shambles over Mozambique expose the whole myth of joined-up government? Over two days, two Departments were arguing over £2 million at the same time as the Government were announcing that they had spent £92 million of taxpayers' money on their own advertising
last year. Does the Minister agree with the conclusion of the leading article in The Times on Saturday, which says:
- This clash of budgets and egos cost lives that speed could have saved . . . The No. 10 boast of fast delivery rings hollow.?
I am not ashamed of what we spent on advertising. We have advertised policies that will make a difference to people's lives and we want to ensure that people know what is happening so that they can benefit.
Mr. Hilton Dawson (Lancaster and Wyre):
Does my right hon. Friend agree that her visit to the glorious city of Lancaster only a couple of weeks ago was the epitome of joined-up government, because she met people who are bringing excellent education, health and economic development policies to bear on most socially excluded communities in the city, in line with excellent Government policies to reduce unemployment? All that is aiding the city enormously.
Marjorie Mowlam:
It was an enjoyable visit to Lancaster, not least because it showed that when a community buys into the changes that have been proposed--I met people from the business community and the voluntary sector, local politicians and trade unionists to see how best the policies could be implemented--it has a real chance of succeeding.
5. Mr. Desmond Browne (Kilmarnock and Loudoun):
If she will make a statement on the progress being made in the achievement of civil service recruitment targets for people with disabilities. [112260]
The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Mr. Graham Stringer):
The Government are determined to tackle the under-representation of disabled people in the whole civil service. To that end, the Government have set a target to have people with disabilities comprising 3 per cent of the senior civil service by 2005.
Mr. Browne:
I thank my hon. Friend for that reply and I welcome the fact that a target of doubling the number of people with disabilities in the senior civil service has been set for the next five years. To my knowledge, there are no senior civil servants based in my constituency, but there are civil servants, and people with disabilities are conspicuous by their absence from their ranks. Does my hon. Friend agree that more needs to be done to increase
Mr. Stringer:
I agree with my hon. Friend that we need to improve the representation of disabled people throughout the civil service. At present, all Departments and the lower echelons of the civil service are setting targets that will be achievable by those Departments, and those targets will be made public in the near future. To encourage a positive attitude to people with disabilities, the Government are supporting the two ticks symbol, which has been awarded to the Cabinet Office today.
Mr. John Bercow (Buckingham):
Given that sufferers from multiple sclerosis are today staging an important rally in Parliament, backed by--among others--the all-party group on the subject, will the Minister take this opportunity to confirm that the victims of that appalling degenerative disease will invariably find Government Departments to be model employers?
Mr. Stringer:
The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. I can confirm that there is no sense in the Government setting targets for disabled people within Departments without having the will and the money to adapt offices and machinery to enable disabled people to work there. That certainly applies to people who are suffering from multiple sclerosis.
Mr. Tom Clarke (Coatbridge and Chryston):
Will my hon. Friend consult the Disability Rights Commission, whose presence we all welcome, for practical advice on issues such as hearing loops, Braille and physical access? Will he seek to ensure that Government Departments become a beacon for best practice for the whole of British industry and commerce, in both the private and public sectors?
Mr. Stringer:
I agree with my right hon. Friend that the Government should be a model employer to set an example to the whole employment sector. There is often much good will towards people with disabilities, but employers do not always know how to make it possible for people with disabilities to enter the work force.
Although the Disability Rights Commission will not be up and running until 1 April, we shall certainly be taking advice about adaptations, as my right hon. Friend suggests.
6. Mr. Ian Bruce (South Dorset):
What progress is being made on reducing the time taken by Ministers to respond to hon. Members' letters. [112261]
The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Mr. Graham Stringer):
The Government are determined to improve the response time to letters from hon. Members. We are making steady progress to that
Mr. Bruce:
The Minister will know that every table on the subject published by the Government shows that things are going backwards, not forwards. I am sure that every hon. Member will recognise the example that I shall give. A Mr. Newsham of Weymouth wrote to me on 9 January 1999. I sent a two-page letter off to him on 11 January, and I also sent a copy to the Minister, which was acknowledged on 14 January. A delegation--
Madam Speaker:
Order. That is enough of the example. The hon. Gentleman should now ask the Minister how long it took to reply to the letter. That is the bottom line.
Mr. Bruce:
The target is 20 days for a reply, but in this case we are at 424 days, and counting. When will the Government do something about a reply?
Mr. Stringer:
If the letter is as long as the question, it is probably still being read. The hon. Gentleman said that matters are going backwards. I think that he will be pleasantly surprised when he sees the tables to be published later this year. I think that he will be pleased at the progress being made.
Mr. Paul Tyler (North Cornwall):
I am sure that the Minister will accept that hon. Members of all parties have similar horror stories, and I shall not quote another to him. However, does he accept that being encouraged to table parliamentary questions is not a satisfactory alternative when the delays in answers to letters are so long? Hon. Members are put in an invidious position. I have figures showing the number of written questions on a named date that are answered in time. Responses are getting distressingly late. Although only a third of Cabinet Office responses are late, the figure is two thirds for both the Treasury and the Department of Trade and Industry.
Does the Minister accept that, although some Departments have made some improvements, the general position is deteriorating?
Mr. Stringer:
I do not accept that the general position is deteriorating. In fact, it is improving. However, I agree that the targets set by the Government are not being met at present. The Government are doing everything possible to improve response times.
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