Government wastes £2.6Milion rebranding Departments

11.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 2nd Jul 2007

Labour wasting your money

Figures released today by the Liberal Democrats show that the government has spent at least £2.6 million reorganising and rebranding government departments since 1997. These costs are set to increase even further after Gordon Brown's announcement to split the Department for Education and Skills into two departments and the rebranding of the Department for Trade and Industry. The research shows:

· When the Home Office split earlier this year, the creation of the Ministry of Justice cost £1.5million

· The cost of creating the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in 2001 was £529,000

· The creation six years ago of the now split Department for Education and Skills cost £56,057

· Local Government has been the responsibility of departments with five different names.

People will not be impressed with Brown's endless tinkering of the titles of Whitehall departments but want him to raise standards in schools, improve patient care in hospitals and protect the environment. Brown should concentrate less on renaming ministries and more on the policies they implement.