Written question asked by Rachel Reeves (Labour) on Tuesday, 24 April 2012, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 30 April 2012. It was answered by Lord Maude of Horsham (Conservative) on Tuesday, 1 May 2012 on behalf of the Cabinet Office.

Behavioural Sciences Unit

Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much his Department has spent on establishing the Behavioural Sciences Unit; and how much his Department has budgeted for the future costs of the Unit.

Answer: [holding answer 30 April 2012]: The Behavioural Insights Team in my Department was established in July 2010 to find innovative ways of encouraging, enabling and supporting people to make better choices for themselves. Annual costs for running the existing team are around £520,000 per year.The team is working with a number of Departments to realise significant savings, including with the Department of Health on promoting healthier food, with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on consumer empowerment and SME access to finance, with HMRC and the Ministry of Justice on reducing fraud and debt, and with the Department for Energy and Climate Change on improving energy efficiency. To give just one example of what has been achieved by the team, by slightly changing the wording in letters sent out by HMRC to self-assessment taxpayers who owed money, the team has increased payment rates from 68% to 83%, leading to savings of £30 million a year in administrative and court costs.

Secondary information