§ 37. Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Minister for the Civil Service whether he will give for the latest and most convenient stated date the total costs in salaries and wages of the Civil Service; how these figures compare with June, 1970; and to what extent he now estimates these figures will increase or decrease in the event of Great Britain entering the Common Market.
§ Mr. David HowellThe total cost of Civil Service wages and salaries, based on the provision in Estimates, will be about £1,040 million in the current financial year as compared with £937 million in 1970–71. The effect of our entering the E.E.C. will be that some parts of the Civil Service will expand a little, but we expect to achieve some offsetting economies.