Ms Ita Mangan:

I am not reluctant to give information I can give in the public domain. We came in here in February and gave every background document. This has been going on for years. We gave every background document to it. This committee disagrees with our decision to ahead with the reorganisation. I accept that. This committee is entitled to disagree with it. However, we have the statutory responsibility and are going ahead with the reorganisation. This committee asked us to have an economic or cost-benefit analysis done. We went out to tender in the normal way. This company, which, to be perfectly honest, I had not heard of previously, tendered for this contract. It is not part of KPMG. It is a reputable firm of economic consultants and this is the form that a cost-benefit analysis takes. I accept that it is difficult enough to understand. I think I understand it myself but it is not an easy read, any more than any other cost-benefit analysis would be an easy read. However, it is what this committee asked for, it was properly procured, the normal procurement considerations were taken into account and the company in question won the tender. It is as simple as that. I cannot say any more about it than that.

The interaction between Citizens Information Board staff and the staff of the various services would suggest to us that, in general, the staff are actually quite well-disposed towards this - although I am sure there are some who are not - because, among other things, it greatly enhances their career prospects. They will be able to have opportunities to progress through the different services. At present, each member of staff is employed by a small organisation. When this is implemented, they will have a much wider possibility of progressing through the organisation so all in all, this is very good for staff. There is no question of any staff being changed from their current position if they do not want to be changed so it is a good option for staff.