§ 6. Mr. Boydenasked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science, as representing the Lord President of the Council, how many additional staff, and in what categories, 4 he has recruited to draw up the plan for the North-East; and what numbers of staff he is retaining to deal with the implementation of this plan.
§ Mr. Denzil FreethMy noble Friend has been assisted by staff from all the Departments concerned with the problems of the region, not by recruitment but by drawing upon them as needed, with a small nucleus of senior officials engaged on the work full-time. This arrangement will continue for the time being.
§ Mr. BoydenWill the hon. Gentleman not go a little further? Surely if we are to judge the effect of this as a plan we should know what the staff is and how it is likely to be continued. Will the noble Lord's report contain references to staff and facilities at their disposal?
§ Mr. FreethMy noble Friend has made the report to his colleagues in the Government. This is not necessarily for publication, being an internal Government document. A nucleus of four full-time senior officials has been formed, but a large number of officials drawn from a large number of Government Departments have assisted from time to time, and some of them for a considerable amount of time.
§ Dr. BrayCan the hon. Gentleman say how many staff there will be at the regional offices in Newcastle who are not attached to any one specific Ministry but who are concerned with the interests of the region as a whole?
§ Mr. FreethThis will probably differ from time to time, and in part it will depend upon the announcement to be made later.