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Prime Minister

Answer

Dr. Godman: To ask the Prime Minister if he has received the substantive report on progress in modernising the Civil Service which was promised in the "Modernising Government" White Paper; and if he will make a statement. [102987] The Prime Minister: I am very pleased to be able to report that the Head of the Home Civil Service, Sir Richard Wilson, has sent me his report on Civil Service reform. The world in which the Civil Service operates is changing. Information technology, the media, electronic communications, Europe, modernisation of the constitution, and public demand for higher quality services are all changing fast, and the Civil Service needs to change too. Sir Richard and his colleagues have set out an excellent and exciting programme, which I fully endorse. It is designed to ensure that the Civil Service is fully equipped to deliver the Modernising Government agenda, and to meet the challenges of the 21{st} century. A Modernisation Fund of £100 million over two years has been set up to support the programme. Sir Richard and his colleagues will be leading these changes with the full support of the Government and, I hope, the House. I would like to pay tribute to the quality of the Civil Service. I believe that a sign of this quality is the fact that the Service has recognised for itself the need for further improvement and is now driving forward such an ambitious programme of reform. A copy of the Report has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

341 c219-20W; 102987

Session

1999-00

Subjects

Civil service Finance Modernisation Electronic government

Contains statistics

Yes