To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many arm’s length bodies for which his Department is responsible there have been at the start of each financial year since 1997-98; how many staff each such body employed in each year; and what the annual budget was of each such body in each year. (318182)

The details requested are available in published documents, including the “Annual Reports and Accounts” of the individual non-departmental public bodies, special health authorities and executive agencies.

The Cabinet Office published a detailed overall public bodies document, covering the whole of central Government, for each of the financial years 1997-1998 to 2005-2006. The documents are available from the civil service website at:

www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/resources/ndpbs.aspx

These publications list the Department’s executive non-departmental public bodies and special health authorities, and provide details of funding, expenditure and staff employed. The Department’s annual “Departmental Reports” also list its agencies for each year. These documents are available from the Department’s website:

www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/AnnualReports/index.htm

From 2006-07 onwards, the Cabinet Office has published an overall summary public bodies document, without the previous level detail. However, the Department has published its own public bodies document annually containing this detailed information. Copies of the Department’s public bodies documents for 2007, 2008 and 2009 have been placed in the Library. “Public Bodies 2007, 2008 and 2009” are also available from the following website at:

www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_113099