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Sustainable Development Commission

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if she will list the appointments to the Sustainable Development Commission; and when it first met. [133778]

Mr. Meacher: I have been asked to reply.

The Sustainable Development Commission is expected to hold its first meeting in the autumn when the appointments process is completed. It will be for the Commission to decide the frequency and timing of its meetings along with other working arrangements.

Civil Service Fast Stream

Mr. Healey: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) how many graduates are in the fast stream of the Civil Service; [132927]

(2) how many graduates of Oxford and Cambridge universities are in the fast stream of the Civil Service; and what percentage of the total this represents; [132928]

(3) how many non-graduates there are in the fast stream of the Civil Service; and what percentage of the total this represents. [132926]

Marjorie Mowlam: On 1 April 1999, there were 476 civil servants on the General Fast Stream Development Programme. Information is not held centrally on how many of this total number are graduates, nor which university they graduated from.

Information held on last year's open Fast Stream competitions, including specialists, showed that, on recruitment, of 306 successful candidates 92 (30 per cent.) were graduates of Oxford and Cambridge Universities.

The open General Fast Stream is at present a graduate recruitment scheme. However a separate competition is held for in-service applicants who are nominated by their departments, and these candidates are not required to have a degree. Our records show that last year, from this source, one successful candidate was a non-graduate.

28 Jul 2000 : Column: 907W

European Secretariat

Mr. Spring: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the (a) budget, (b) remit and (c) staffing provision is for the unit in the Cabinet Office co-ordinating the work of Government Departments on Europe. [132980]

Marjorie Mowlam: The European Secretariat is responsible for this work. Its remit is to support the Prime Minister with the provision of policy advice on EU issues, to support collective decision-making in Government, and to co-ordinate policy on EU issues across Departments. The operating budget for the unit in this financial year is £868,000 and it currently has a staff of 21.

Government Car and Despatch Agency

Mr. Baker: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Wokingham (Mr. Redwood) of 13 June 2000, Official Report, column 614W, regarding the Government Car and Despatch Agency, (1) how many of the 126 cars purchased by the Agency since May 1997 were purchased to (i) replace existing cars and (ii) increase the size of the Agency's fleet; [133741]

(2) if she will list the number of (a) cars and (b) other vehicles in the Agency's fleet on (i) 1 May 1997, (ii) 1 May 1998, (iii) 1 May 1999 and (iv) 1 May 2000; [133740]

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(3) how many vehicles, other than cars, were purchased by the Agency in each month since May 1997, indicating in each case the (a) make, (b) model and (c) purchase price of each vehicle. [133742]

Marjorie Mowlam: Responsibility for these matter has been delegated under the terms of the Framework Document to the Government Car and Despatch Agency. I have asked its Chief Executive, Mr. Nick Matheson, to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Nick Matheson to Mr. Norman Baker, dated 27 July 2000:

The Minister of State, Cabinet Office, has asked me in my capacity as the Chief Executive responsible for the Government Car and Despatch Agency to reply to your three Parliamentary Questions about vehicles purchased and operated by this Agency since May 1997.

All the vehicles quoted in the Minister's reply of 13 June were purchased to replace existing cars as part of the Agency's vehicle replacement programme.

The number of cars and other vehicles int eh Agency's fleet on the dates requested were:

1 May 1997: 201 cars and 53 other vehicles;

1 May 1998: 188 cars and 39 other vehicles;

1 May 1999: 188 cars and 59 other vehicles; and

1 May 2000: 190 cars and 56 other vehicles.

From May 1997 the Agency has purchased the following vehicles other than cars, primarily for use by its InterDespatch Service:

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Make	Model	Number	Purchase date	Cost per vehicle (£)	Total cost (£)
Ford	Transit SWB	18	January 1998	10,736.25	193,252.50
Ford	Transit LWB	1	April 1998	14,733.75	14,733.75
Ford	Transit SWB	4	September 1998	11,036.25	44,145.00
Ford	Transit LWB	1	December 1998	14,516.25	14,516.25
Ford	Transit SWB	2	December 1998	11,306.25	22,612.50
Ford	Transit LWB	1	January 1999	14,730.00	14,730.00
Vauxhall	Astravan	2	January 1999	7,827.84	15,655.68
Ford	Transit SWB	5	July 1999	9,810.50	49,052.50
Ford	Transit SWB	5	September 1999	9,810.50	49,052.50
Ford	Transit SWB (LPG)	5	January 2000	10,710.00	53,550.00
Ford	Transit SWB	1	January 2000	9,660.00	9,660.00

28 Jul 2000 : Column: 907W

Mr. Alastair Campbell

Mr. Redwood: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many times she has (a) received advice from and (b) had meetings with Mr. Alastair Campbell in the last month. [133473]

Marjorie Mowlam: I take advice from Alastair Campbell and other civil servants as appropriate.

New Deal

Mr. Rooney: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people have been employed in the Civil Service under the New Deal for the young and unemployed. [129914]

Marjorie Mowlam [pursuant to her reply, 6 July 2000, c. 286W]: As at 1 April 2000, the information on Civil Service Departments (including their agencies) participating as employers in the New Deal is as follows.

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New Deal starts since programme began as at 1 April 2000

Main department (including agencies)	Number
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food	38
Intervention Board	3
Cabinet Office	9
Charity Commission	18
Culture, Media and Sport	4
Ministry of Defence	95
Education and Employment	1,736
Office for Standards in Education	1
Environment, Transport and the Regions	18
Export Credits Guarantee Department	4
Foreign and Commonwealth Office	4
Government Offices for the Regions	4
Health	27
Home Office	73
International Development	1
Law Officers' Departments	10
Lord Chancellor's Department	22
Lord Advocate's Department	3
National Assembly for Wales	33
Northern Ireland Office	11
Scottish Executive	29
Social Security	467
Trade and Industry	43
HM Treasury	2
HM Customs and Excise	35
Office of Government Commerce	1
Inland Revenue	256
Office for National Statistics	10
Royal Mint	3
Total	2,960

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DEFENCE

Army Personnel Centre

Mrs. Fitzsimons: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what key targets have been set for the Army Personnel Centre for the financial year 2000-01. [133605]

Mr. Spellar: The Chief Executive of the Army Personnel Centre has been set the following Key Targets for 2000-01.

1. The percentage of manned posts (excluding posts gapped for less than 28 days and all posts for private soldiers and subaltern officers) to be 92 per cent. or greater.

2. The proportion of personnel posted in-year by the APC whose rank and Service qualifications meet the specifications of the post of be 93 per cent. or greater.

3. The percentage of in-year postings authorised by the APC where personnel are given at least four months notification (See Note) to be 54 per cent or greater.

4. The percentage of change requests received by the APC which are authorised and/or accurately processed within five working days of receipt at the Document Handling Centre to be 94 per cent. or greater.

5. The percentage of due terminal benefits made by the 5th working day after discharge/retirement or following receipt of the correct authorisation paperwork by Pensions Division, whichever is later, to be 98 per cent. or greater.

6. Achieve an in year reduction of 1 per cent. in operating costs and identify measurable indicators of efficiency within key business processes for implementation from April 2001.

Note:

Short-notice operational requirements and postings following initial training and long career courses are excluded.

Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency

Laura Moffatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future of the Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency. [133927]

Mr. Spellar: The introduction of the SMART Procurement Initiative (SPI) and the formation of Integrated Project Teams (IPTs) across the Ministry of Defence has changed the strategic conduct of the Ministry of Defence's procurement business. We have decided that the Agency in its current form is not consistent with the far-reaching changes demanded by SPI. Accordingly DCTA is to be reorganised along IPT lines and will cease to be a Defence Agency on 1 October 2000. The Planned collocation of staff at the Caversfield site will continue and should be completed in March 2001.

The organisation is to become part of the Director General Equipment Support (Land) Business Unit within the Defence Logistics Organisation (DLO). A Transition

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Team Leader has been appointed to direct the transition to the new structure with implementation to be completed by 31 March 2001.

In place of Key Targets, IPTs are expected to deliver a high level of performance against hard and stretch targets. The planned adoption of a balanced set of performance measures and targets (known as the Balanced Scorecard) across the organisation will ensure that a challenging performance regime remains in place.

Clothing products are of fundamental importance to our Armed Forces and this reorganisation in line with SPI principles will ensure that Service personnel continue to receive products of the highest standards.

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