§ 47. Mr. Holtasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the new duties undertaken by his Department, which at present require the employment of 17,000 civil servants, compared with 2,600 in April, 1939; and if he will give the increased number employed under each category and the reduction he expects to make in the coming year.
Mr. AmoryThe new duties undertaken by my Department since 1939 can be summarised as follows:
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Additional Staff (1) Administration of grants and subsidies 3,564 (2) Advisory services to the farming industry 2,761 (3) Servicing of County Committees 1,098 (4) Development of the Attested Herds Scheme and the Area Eradication Plan for Tuberculosis 429 (5) Administration of (a) the Agriculture Act, 1947, and the Agricultural Holdings Act, 1948 542 and (b) other Acts of Parliament passed or implemented since 1939 437 (6) Contract services to the farming industry 920
Additional Staff (7) Increase and development of research 772 (8) Increased international commitments 56 (9) Defence 304 (10) Remaining work on state trading 414 (11) Functions performed in 1939 by other Government departments or organisations 94 Consequential increases in typists, registries, and other general services 2,670 In April, 1949, the total staff of the two Ministries of Agriculture and Fisheries, and Food, was 60,700. In April, 1955, the combined strength was 18,000. It is now 16,900; it is under constant review; and I hope to achieve further economies.