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M6 Toll Road

13. Sir Nicholas Winterton (Macclesfield) (Con): If he will assess the effects on Cheshire of the proposed M6 toll road; and if he will make a statement. [184927]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mr. David Jamieson): The consultation document "M6: giving motorists a choice" seeks views at this stage on the broad concept of a tolled expressway alongside the existing M6. The document makes it clear that before decisions are taken, a careful assessment will be made of the wider social, economic and environmental impacts of any potential scheme, including the section of the route running through Cheshire.

Sir Nicholas Winterton: I am very grateful to the Minister for that helpful reply, which will reassure the people of Cheshire. He will know that the north Birmingham relief motorway has been a great success because of the care that went into its design and the chosen line of route. Will he assure me and the people of Cheshire that, if this new road proceeds, the same care will be shown with the line of route, and that environmentally sensitive areas and the environment as a whole will be taken into account? I hope that it does proceed, because we need this express motorway. I support the toll road concept.

Mr. Jamieson: The hon. Gentleman mentions the success of the M6 toll scheme. For all the other projects undertaken by the Highways Agency, too, a very careful assessment of the environmental impact is undertaken. The M6 toll has been a success: the original M6 is much
 
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quieter than it was before. I can assure the hon. Gentleman that standards are improving all the time. When we undertake consultation on the road that he mentioned, the impact on the environment and on people will be foremost in our minds.

CABINET OFFICE

The Minister was asked—

Strategy Unit

20. Bob Spink (Castle Point) (Con): If he will list the current work programme of the strategy unit. [184907]

The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Mr. Douglas Alexander): The strategy unit is currently working on six full projects, as well as working across government to improve strategic capability and providing leadership for Government social research. The six current strategy unit projects are: countries at risk of instability; deprived areas; improving the life chances of disabled people; legal aid; London; and police reform.

Bob Spink: May I make a constructive suggestion on police reform? The police need IT solutions to help them to become more efficient—for instance, to cut the time it takes them to arrest a prisoner. Will the Minister bring forward the development of such IT solutions, which could release up to 25 per cent. of a police officer's time, as 25 per cent. more police officers on the street is what people really want to see?

Mr. Alexander: I am sure that people will therefore welcome the Home Secretary's announcement this week of additional resources for community support officers. As I said in my initial answer, the strategy unit is undertaking a project on police reform under the Minister for Crime Reduction, Policing and Community Safety, the sponsor Minister. I am certainly happy to pass the hon. Gentleman's comments directly to her.

Tony Wright (Cannock Chase) (Lab): Will the Minister take the opportunity to pay tribute to Mr. Geoff Mulgan, who has been head of the strategy unit for some time and is now retiring? He has one of the most fertile minds in the country and we were fortunate to bring him into government as a special adviser and then as a civil servant. When such people leave, we should say "thank you" to them.

Mr. Alexander: That is indeed a happy task and I shall certainly pass on to Mr. Mulgan not only my best wishes, but those of my hon. Friend.

Mr. Oliver Heald (North-East Hertfordshire) (Con): The strategy unit costs more than £5 million a year, but it has released just four final project reports since last July: each report has cost more than £1 million. How does that square with the Chancellor's new talk of efficiency, and where is the value for taxpayers' money in that?
 
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Mr. Alexander: I will certainly take no lectures from the Opposition on efficiency, not least from the party that introduced the poll tax and gave us black Wednesday. On the substantive point of the strategy unit, many constituents in many parts of the country would welcome, for example, the creation of the Assets Recovery Agency, which already is doing tremendous work in ensuring that the assets of drug dealers are brought into the criminal justice system. The strategy unit's work on child care provision in this country has been pioneering. In that sense, I believe that we get extremely good value from an innovative centre of government.

E-government

21. Mr. Terry Rooney (Bradford, North) (Lab): If he will make a statement on the recent appointment of the head of e-government. [184908]

The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Mr. Douglas Alexander): On 25   May 2004, the Prime Minister announced the appointment of Ian Watmore as the new head of e-government. He was recruited through open competition in accordance with the civil service commissioner's recruitment code. Mr. Watmore takes up his post in September 2004.

Mr. Rooney: I thank the Minister for his reply. Does Mr. Watmore's experience at Accenture impinge on the duties that he can perform, and what will he bring for the constituents of Bradford?

Mr. Alexander: I am glad to say that Mr. Watmore's appointment has been very well received—not just within the supplier community, but in the trade press. People recognise that having a big hitter coming into government is further evidence of the seriousness with which the Government take this area of work. A protocol has been established and agreed, which means that he will not be involved in business decisions concerning Accenture, his previous employer. I believe that constituents in every part of the country will welcome the rigorous focus on project management that he will bring to a huge programme of work centred on securing value for money in our e-services.

Mr. Richard Allan (Sheffield, Hallam) (LD): The Minister will know that one of the biggest e-government projects over the next few years is likely to be the IT programme for the NHS. What role, if any, will the head of e-government have in that respect?

Mr. Alexander: That is a huge project for NHS procurement. A specialist team in the Department of Health works under Richard Grainger. He previously worked closely with Ian Watmore, and I am sure that he is looking forward to working again with the new head of e-government. We are determined to make sure that we have a centre of excellence for e-government at the heart of Government, and that we draw on the expertise in Departments. The evidence is that the NHS project is on track, and that tremendous work is being done.
 
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Better Regulation Agenda

22. David Taylor (North-West Leicestershire) (Lab/Co-op): What civil service resources he estimates will be needed to advance the Government's better regulation agenda in the next two years. [184909]

The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Mr. Douglas Alexander): All Government Departments have a role to play in taking forward the Government's better regulation agenda. Allocation of specific resources to this agenda is the responsibility of individual Departments.

David Taylor: Last week's comprehensive spending review proposed to cut 150 jobs in the Cabinet Office, including in the regulatory impact unit. Does the Minister believe that such cuts might curtail his Department's consultancy capacity in crucial areas such as employee relations and communications? That is especially important, given that the recent performance of Departments and agencies for which his ministerial colleagues have responsibility—such as the Department for Work and Pensions and the Office for National Statistics—has been so woeful in that respect.

Mr. Alexander: In the year to April 2004, the number of people on the Cabinet Office payroll fell rather than rose. As I indicated in my earlier answer, strong evidence is emerging that the scale of our investment in new technology and IT in particular means that there is scope for exactly the sort of efficiencies set out by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor in the comprehensive spending review.

Mr. Archie Norman (Tunbridge Wells) (Con): If the Minister is sincere about the better regulation agenda, why does he not look at the problem of regulatory impact assessments? Even he would acknowledge that they are often published far too late, and that hindsight often proves them to be wildly inaccurate. Is not there a compelling case for looking again at a system that allows officials to assess their own legislation without having to publish any details of their calculations? As a result of that, the regulatory impact assessments carry scant credibility, in the House or outside it.

Mr. Alexander: I simply disagree with that assessment of the importance of regulatory impact assessments across government. The fact that they are valuable tools, informing policy makers in the process of formulating policy, is evidenced by the fact that the EU is looking at the RIA process as one that might meet some of its own specific challenges. However, I draw attention to the work being done by the National Audit Office, whose report noted that sanctions are available to the Better Regulation Task Force. It is clear also, from the recent comments made by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer, that RIAs remain an important part of our ongoing work to ensure better regulation across government.
 
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