Q2. Mr. Edward M. Taylorasked the Prime Minister by what percentage the staff at Downing Street and the wages paid to them have increased or decreased since the Government introduced a productivity, prices and incomes policy.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Minister without Portfolio to a Question by the hon. Member for Aberdeenshire, East (Mr. Wolrige-Gordon) on 26th January.—[Vol. 794, c. 266.]
Mr. TaylorSince that answer shows that the staff of Downing Street has increased by 43 per cent.—[HON. MEMBERS: "Oh."]—and that the salary bill has increased by 105 per cent.—[HON. MEMBERS: "Oh."]—and in view of the fact that the White Paper called for manpower to be used more effectively, does the right hon. Gentleman not think that he has set a very bad example to industry when this has coincided with the worst period of Government this century?
§ The Prime MinisterThe hon. Gentleman's Question refers to prices and incomes and productivity. The productivity has gone up 500 per cent.
§ Mr. MolloyDoes the Prime Minister not realise that hon. Gentlemen opposite indulge in this form of juvenile drivel, put in the form of a Question by the hon. Member for Glasgow, Cathcart (Mr. Edward M. Taylor), to conceal their chagrin and annoyance at the improved balance of payments situation and the remarkable improvement in exports from Great Britain which annoy them so much?
§ The Prime MinisterI must disagree with my hon. Friend on the first part of his question. I always enjoy the Questions of the hon. Member for Glasgow, Cathcart (Mr. Edward M. Taylor), whom we all know to be a highly intelligent and sincere Member of this House.
With regard to that part of my hon. Friend's question on what he calls the 589 Tory chagrin about the balance of payments and the export figures, one of the least attractive features of my hon. Friend is his willingness to intrude into private grief.