HC Deb 19 December 1983 vol 51 c18
36. Mr. Robert Sheldon

asked the Minister for the Civil Service how many staff are expected to be in each of the three new unified grades in the Civil Service announced on 23 November, Official Report, c. 172–73.

Mr. Hayhoe

Grade 4, the highest of the three new unified grades, will contain approximately 180 staff; grade 5, approximately 2,100 staff; and grade 6, approximately 3,400 staff.

Mr. Sheldon

Is the Minister aware that the extension of the open structure is one of the few recommendations of the Fulton committee to have been accepted by the Government? How much further in that direction does the hon. Gentleman intend to go? Is he aware that the present relationship between the Government and the Civil Service makes it difficult to achieve this extension of the open structure? What consultations has the hon. Gentleman had with the civil service unions concerned?

Mr. Hayhoe

The views among the civil service unions about this extension are, as the right hon. Gentleman knows, mixed. The IPCS is in favour; the First Division Association is somewhat ambivalent; and the Society of Civil and Public Servants is opposed to it. In those circumstances, the Government thought it right to go ahead with implementing the recommendation, and we are considering the possibility of carrying it further down the Civil Service structure. I appreciate that the right hon. Gentleman has a particular interest in the issue, as he served on the Fulton Committee and was Minister of State, Civil Service Department, when no doubt these matters were under consideration. I am glad to have been involved in this further extension of unified grading.

Mr. Eggar

Will this welcome extension of unified grading make it easier to ensure that the civil servants manage better?

Mr. Hayhoe

Yes, I think it will. It will improve career prospects, and those serving in the unified grades will feel that their jobs are more worth while. Some of the differentiation between the different grades at these levels, which has led to friction in the past, will be removed.