HC Deb 28 November 1983 vol 49 cc652-4
41. Mr. Chapman

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what is the redundancy policy in the Civil Service.

Mr. Hayhoe

In reducing the size of the Civil Service, it is the Government's policy to rely on natural wastage to the greatest possible extent. By 1 April 1984 we shall have reduced Civil Service manpower by over 100,000, of which about 10 per cent. will be accounted for by redundancies.

Mr. Chapman

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that information. Will he confirm that the 14 per cent. reduction in the manpower of the Civil Service over the past four and a half years has been secured with few forced redundancies? Will he use his good offices to ensure that the further planned reduction of 37,000 which was referred to by the hon. Member for Falkirk, West (Mr. Canavan), is achieved, if possible, without any forced redundancies?

Mr. Hayhoe

The reduction of 100,000 has been achieved with about 2,500 non-industrial civil servants being retired prematurely on the ground of redundancy along with about 8,000 industrial civil servants. Every effort will be made in future to avoid compulsory redundancy. The Civil Service is a large employer and resignations and retirements provide a great deal of elbow room for reducing the number of jobs within the service.

Mr. Wilson

If the Minister is determined to pursue that policy in the terms that he has mentioned, will he take on board events in Dundee, where the local vehicle licensing office has been given a sentence of death and where there are no alternative Civil Service jobs because it is an area of high unemployment? Does he accept that the great volume of civil servants is to be found in plusher areas such as London, where there is no unemployment problem? When circumstances arise, such as those in Dundee, will he ensure that alternative work is brought into the area to secure jobs for those concerned? The civil servants at the vehicle licensing office at Dundee secured their jobs only four years ago.

Mr. Hayhoe

The hon. Gentleman is wrong to suggest that the great majority of civil servants work in the London area. The details, which I have provided on many occasions, show that only about one in four or one in five civil servants work in the Greater London area. The hon. Gentleman should direct his specific remarks about redundancies in Dundee to the Minister concerned. Efforts will be made to provide jobs elsewhere for those in mobile grades within the Civil Service. Some redundancies have taken place among non-mobile grades.

Mr. Leigh

Is my hon. Friend aware that one of the most popular policies of the Government in my constituency is that which has led to the prospect that we shall soon have the smallest Civil Service since the war? Does he understand that many of my constituents ask 'why the Civil Service should be the only section of the community that is immune from compulsory redundancies?

Mr. Hayhoe

My hon. Friend does not have to wait for the news that we have the smallest Civil Service since the war. That has already been achieved. As I have explained, the Civil Service is an extremely large employer and it is possible, by changes in recruitment policy and by using the processes of natural wastage, retirements and resignations, to achieve the elbow room that is necessary to obtain job reductions.

Mr. Ioan Evans

Does the Minister realise that the public service is weakened by cuts in the Civil Service? In my constituency there is talk about closing the local tax office. If the closure takes place, many taxpayers will have to travel a great deal further to deal with their tax problems. Such a closure would be a false economy.

Mr. Hayhoe

We must have a public service that is efficient and gives value for the taxpayer's pound. It is the Government's intention to continue to introduce measures to achieve that. If we have an inefficient service that fails to give value for money, there will be a burden on the economy which, at the end of the day, will cost jobs rather than maintain them.

Mr. Wrigglesworth

How many of those involved in the planned reductions of manpower within the Civil Service have been transferred to other parts of the public sector?

Mr. Hayhoe

With notice, I could try to provide that figure for the hon. Gentleman.