§ 57. Mr. Chapmanasked the Minister for the Civil Service what is the planned reduction in the number of non-industrial civil servants by 1984; and if he will make a statement on progress to date.
§ Mr. HayhoeThere is no separate target for the number of non-industrial civil servants in 1984, but, as the Government have already made clear, our intention is to bring the total number of civil servants down to about 630,000 by April 1984. At 1 October 1980, the latest date for which information is available, there were 543,200 non-industrial civil servants—a reduction of 22,600 since the Government took office.
§ Mr. ChapmanWill my hon. Friend confirm that during the 1970s there was a reduction in the numbers of industrial civil servants which concealed a great increase in the numbers of non-industrial civil servants by more than the overall figures would imply? Therefore, to many of us it is essential to separate non-industrial from industrial civil servants in this classification. Have not the Government, in their plan to reduce the total number of civil servants to 630,000 by 1984, some idea of the reduction in the number of non-industrial civil servants at which they are aiming?
§ Mr. HayhoeOf the reduction of 35,000 which has occurred, 22,500 have been non-industrial civil servants. Therefore, 12,500 have been industrial civil servants. As I said, the targets and programmes announced in the House before Christmas do not at the moment separate industrial from non-industrial civil servants. Departments are looking at the matter with regard to their own employees.
§ Mr. SpeakerI have had notice of two points of order I know the contents of one but not of the other.