§ 2. Mr. Lathamasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will make a statement on the progress achieved to date in reducing the staff of the Development Land Tax Office.
§ The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Mr. John Biffen)I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I gave on 11 March 1980.
§ Mr. LathamIs my right hon. Friend aware that progress in reducing the notoriously overstaffed Development Land Tax Office under the present Government is most satisfactory, since the staff has been reduced from 174 to 147? Will he ensure that that desirable trend continues?
Mr. BilienYes. I can assure my hon. Friend that, provided that the market in development land continues roughly as forecast, we hope to reduce the number of staff to 110 by April 1981.
§ Mr. Denzil DaviesIn spite of the progress made will the Chief Secretary confirm reports in the newspapers today that next year the Government will be employing more civil servants than they are employing this year? Does not that show the madness of the Government's economic policies? Is he aware that the Government are putting people in the manufacturing industries out of work and have to employ more people to pay them unemployment benefit?
§ Mr. BiffenThat wide-ranging question arising from evidence to a Select Committee cannot conceivably arise out of a question about the Development Land Tax Office.