32
3 May 1989]
MINUTES OF EVIDENCE TAKEN BEFORE
No. Area of Activity and
Department
1.
General (Director of Purchasing/
Local Budgets/ Computerisation
VALUE FOR MONEY TARGETS 1989-90
Targets
(i) Contract Policy: To ensure a more rigorous
examination of the contents of all major contracts with a view to securing improved value for money and increased contractural security (with the aim of reviewing all major contracts, excluding OED works, as they come up for renewal).
(ii) Local Budgets:
To complete in 1989-90 expansion of loal budgets recommended by the Yarnold Scrutiny with the aim of more economic use of resources by overseas posts.
(iii) Computerisation: to Computerise accounts at a
further 50 overseas posts (from
about 40 to 90 or almost 50 per cent of posts), with consequent staff savings (at present unquantifiable).
[Continued
Any further action if target not final
2.
Consular/
Entry Clearance Work (A) Consular
Department/ Nationality and Treaty Department
(B) Migration and
Visa Department
3.
Information Work
4.
Information Department
Cultural Work
Cultural Relations Department to monitor
carefully progress on three specific targets from the British Council Corporate Plan
To eliminate by 1989-90 the deficit on fee-bearing consular services.
To increase from 80 per cent to 90 per cent the proportion of the costs of the entry clearance service recovered through fees.
(A) BBC World Service: BBC being consulted about
appropriate targets.
(B) Other Information Work:
(i) To reduce the cost of training UK-based and locally
engaged Information officers by transferring the task of organising formal training courses from the COI to Training Department of the FCO (saving £133,000);
(ii) To reduce the cost of handling information enquiries from overseas posts by transferring the task from the COI (with consequent staff savings) to Library and Records Department (saving £135,000).
British Council
*
(i) To reduce the subsidy to the English Language
Testing Service by 55 per pent between 1987-88 an 1991-92 (the net unit cost for each test to fall from £23 to £8).
(ii) To reduce the net cost to the taxpayer of each
information enquiry from £2.93 in 1986-87 to £1.86 in 1991-92.
*(iii) To reduce telephone an telex expenditure at
beadquarters by 5 per cent per annum between 1989-90 and 1991-92
*Targets are for full three years of the British Council Corporate Plan.
Finalised target for 1989-90.
May need adjustment to take account of new previously unidentified costs. Also too early to assess full impact of latest fee increases. But target should be feasible (though a further fee increase may be necessary in 1989),
Finalised targets.
CRD have informed the British Council of our choice of targets.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.