APPENDIX 34
CORRESPONDENCE CONCERNING THE STUDY OF
MERGING THE REVENUE DEPARTMENTS CONDUCTED BY OFFICIALS IN ADVANCE
OF THE 1994 FUNDAMENTAL EXPENDITURE REVIEW
Extract of letter from the Clerk of the Sub-committee
to Mr John Lester, Customs & Excise
Additionally, in the light of the answer to
Q22, the Sub-committee would wish to receive the report comparing
the practicalities of merging the Inland Revenue and Customs and
Excise and closer working mentioned in paragraph 1.9 of the "Fundamental
Expenditure Review: Final Report " of September 1994, and
a copy of the Action Plan referred to in the same paragraph.
9 November 1999
Extract of letter from Mr John Lester, Customs
& Excise, to the Clerk of the Sub-committee
The Sub-committee asked for the report comparing
the practicalities of merging Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise
and the closer working mentioned in paragraph 1.9 of the "Fundamental
Expenditure Review: Final Report" of September 1994. Although
I have enclosed a copy of the Action Plan referred to in the same
paragraph, I should explain that the report itself came into the
category of confidential advice to Ministers. It was therefore
not published at the time, and I am afraid that it would not be
possible for us to release it to the Sub-committee.
17 November 1999
Letter from the Clerk of the Sub-committee to
Ms Sarah Rees, Customs & Excise
At its meeting today the Sub-committee resolved
to request from HM Customs and Excise information about the report
comparing the practicalities of merging Inland Revenue and Customs
and Excise and closer working mentioned in paragraph 1.9 of the
"Fundamental Expenditure Review: Final Report" of September
1994. In particular, the Sub-committee would wish to receive the
terms of reference of that report and the facts contained within
it, upon which the advice to Ministers was based.
In view of the appearance of the Chairman of
the Board of Commissioners of HM Customs & Excise before the
Sub-committee om Monday 29 November, the Sub-committee would wish
to receive this information from you by Friday 26 November.
24 November 1999
Letter from Mr John Lester, Customs &
Excise, to the Clerk of the Sub-Committee
Thank you for your letter of 24 November to
Sarah Rees requesting further information about the practicalities
of merging the Revenue and Customs & Excise and closer working
(ie the so called "boundaries review").
I attach a copy of the terms of reference for
the report which, as you will see, did not constrain the options
to be considered.[10]
The report itself was advice to Ministers in the previous Administration
and, under the terms of the Code of Practice on Access to Government
Information, it would not be appropriate for it to be released.
The detailed factual material reflected the
organisation of the two departments in the middle of 1993 and
is of course now out of date. Since then the departments have
made significant organisational changes both in the FER and the
subsequent Comprehensive Spending Review to improve efficiency
and effectiveness and the provision of much of the IT has been
outsourced. The detailed factual material, including potential
costs and savings, is imbedded in the report and relates to the
various assumptions. It has not been possible to extract that
material in the time available, but Dame Valerie will be pleased
to answer questions, subject to the normal conventions, when she
appears before the Sub-committee on Monday.
26 November 1999
10 Annexed. Back
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