Written question asked by Brian Iddon (Labour) on Monday, 20 October 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 6 November 2003. It was answered by Douglas Alexander (Labour) on Thursday, 6 November 2003 on behalf of the Cabinet Office.

Cabinet Office;Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what action has been taken to bring more people from science and technology backgrounds into the Civil Service on secondments as recommended by the Council for Science and Technology in its review in 1999 of Science and Technology Across Government.

Answer: Dr. Iddon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what action has been taken to bring more people from science and technology backgrounds into the Civil Service on secondments as recommended by the Council for Science and Technology in its review in 1999 of Science and Technology Across Government. [133944] Mr. Alexander: The Government are committed to developing a modern, flexible and outward focused Civil Service that works in partnership with all sectors of society. A key tool in meeting that commitment is the Interchange initiative, which promotes and encourages the exchange of people and good practice between the Civil Service and other organisations. Most organisations from anywhere in the country can take part and all sectors of the economy are encouraged to do so. Individual Departments are directly responsible for the staff they bring in to help them deliver their objectives, including secondees. Information on secondments into the Civil Service is recorded separately by Departments. The Cabinet office holds aggregate data, though not specifically on secondees from a science and technology background. Since financial year 1998-99, there has been, on average, around 4,000 instances of interchange taking place each year of which about half are inward to the Civil Service.

Secondary information