HC Deb 11 December 1978 vol 960 cc16-8
19. Mr. Viggers

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what proposals he has to implement the recommendations of the Hardman committee on relocation of Government offices.

25. Mr. Hal Miller

asked the Minister for the Civil Service how many Civil Service posts have been dispersed so far from outside London as compared with London posts; and what are the relative figures planned for the remainder of the dispersal programme.

The Minister of State, Civil Service Department (Mr. Charles R. Morris)

As I advised the hon. Member for Bromsgrove and Redditch (Mr. Miller) on 6th November, the programme of dispersing Civil Service posts announced by the Government on 30th July 1974, following the Hardman report, is proceeding in accordance with the timetable announced by my right hon. and noble Friend the Lord Privy Seal on 29th July 1977. A total of 4,500 posts have been dispersed so far and these have all gone from the London area. With regard to the balance, I refer the hon. Member to the announcement made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence on 3rd August, which indicated that some of the 1,500 Ministry of Defence posts to be dispersed to the Glasgow Anderston site will move from outside the London area. Apart from the MOD's dispersal to Glasgow, the dispersal programme, as announced, does not provide for moves from outside London.

Mr. Viggers

Does the Minister agree that the Hardman committee recommended the dispersal of jobs from London, whereas the Government are now contemplating something quite different? Does he recognise that when the policy means that jobs are being moved from areas where they are functioning satisfactorily to Glasgow, where people do not wish to go, it is a perversion of the orginal Hardman recommendations?

Mr. Morris

The composition of the MOD dispersal package is essentially a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence.

Mr. Miller

But can the Ministry justify dispersing jobs from outside London, from areas which may not be of high employment? Will he tell us once again whether it is posts or people that are being dispersed?

Mr. Morris

It is essentially jobs, not people, that are being dispersed. Up to 5,500 jobs will be going to Glasgow. They will make a significant contribution towards helping to deal with the problems of that area of structural economic difficulty.

Mr. Gordon Wilson

Does the Minister realise that about three years ago 120 jobs were decentralised to Dundee in connection with vehicle registration and other duties? What logic is there in the policy of dispersing jobs if those jobs are to be terminated as a result of the intention to get rid of the vehicle excise duty and replace it with increased petrol taxes?

Mr. Morris

That matter does not relate directly to the Question, but I shall give my attention to it.

Mr. Christopher Price

Does my right hon. Friend realise that the dispersal of the Government Chemist's laboratory and other jobs from London is causing a great deal of chaos in South-East London because it was based on a report—the Hardman report—that is over five years old and has nothing to do with the present situation in South-East London, where unemployment is quite as high as it is in many of the development areas?

Mr. Morris

I agree with my hon. Friend that there are real problems of unemployment in London. But the difficulty in London is the contraction not in service jobs but in manufacturing jobs. I am conscious that the dispersal of the Government Chemist's laboratory will make a contribution to helping to deal with the problems of the areas to which it is being dispersed.

Mr. Hayhoe

What recognition are the Government giving to the changed employment situation in London since the Hardman committee reported? Can the Minister give any indication that the Government have reviewed the position in the light of a drastically changed situation in London?

Mr. Morris

The Government keep their dispersal programme under constant scrutiny and re-examination. But the fact remains that in the regions there is still a serious problem of unemployment. It is to help deal with that problem that the Government are intent on proceeding with their dispersal programme.