PMQT Written Answers – 11 March 1991

Below is the text of the written answers relating to Prime Minister’s Question Time from 11th March 1991.

PRIME MINISTER:

Purchasing and Distribution

Mr. Devlin : To ask the Prime Minister what is the full annual cost, including overheads, of his Department’s purchasing activity.

The Prime Minister : The full cost of the purchasing activity in the Cabinet Office for the current financial year is estimated to be £26 million.

Mr. Devlin : To ask the Prime Minister how many people in the Cabinet Office are wholly or substantially involved in purchasing stores and distribution activities.

The Prime Minister : The number of people involved either wholly or substantially in these activities is nine.

Value for Money

Mr. Devlin : To ask the Prime Minister what measures of performance are employed by his Department to ensure value for money.

The Prime Minister : Although the nature of much of the Cabinet Office’s work precludes assessment by way of formal performance measures, the identification of value-for-money targets is an integral part of the Department’s planning and budgeting system. The system provides for the regular monitoring of progress towards targets and their achievement.