Further to the comments made by the Permanent Secretary reported in The Herald on 9 October 2003, (a) whether it will clarify the remit, me…

The group charged withhorizon scanning is a sub-group of the existing management group, chaired bythe Permanent Secretary and including some members of the management group. Itwill be supported by the strategy unit, which has been drawn from the previouslyexisting policy unit. No additional costs are incurred for this group. The performanceand innovation unit will consist of ad hoc teams established on a project byproject basis charged with taking forward specific studies to deliver optionsfor policy or delivery improvement. The additional cost of establishing andservicing this unit is expected, given its ad hoc working arrangements, to besmall, but cannot be estimated precisely at this stage. A senior figure withappropriate experience, probably gained at least partly in the private sectorwill head and oversee the work of the performance and innovation unit on apart-time basis. Remuneration, if any, will be settled when someone isidentified for the role. The delivery unit has been drawn from the previously existingpolicy unit and there are no additional costs associated with it.