To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department has spent on its Better Regulation Unit in each year since its inception. (282602)

The Department for Children, Schools and Families’ (and predecessor Departments’) Better Regulation Unit (BRU) has been operating since 1997. The current annual cost of salaries and overheads is £132,296.

Delivering value for money and better regulation are central to the work of the Department. The Department’s BRU, which has never exceeded three members of staff since its inception in 1997, is part of a central corporate services function which ensures we gain maximum value for the taxpayer’s money. Records separating the cost of different sections within the corporate services operation back to 1997 are not kept, but the total cost of the operation has been included in each year’s Departmental Report.