In the last year the civil service has taken on some 16,000 additional staff to cope with the changes resulting from the Modernising government programme. This 3.4% rise to a total of 475,000 reverses a 20 year trend of a decline in size of the civil service.The demand for more staff illustrates the fact that change always come with a price tag. 

The target of purchasing 90% of goods electronically by 2001 has spurred on departments and agencies to make greater use of the Government Procurement Card. The card, which is run by Via International, was introduced in 1997 and in the first two years it was used for transactions worth13.4 million pounds.