HC Deb 14 February 1973 vol 850 cc374-7W
Mr. Kinnock

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list in the OFFICIAL REPORT the offices employing more than 50 civil servants dispersed from London, in each year from 1965, giving in each case the Department involved, the region, and the number of jobs concerned.

Department Number of posts Region
Charity Commission:
A Regional Office for the Northern Counties 104 North West (Liverpool)
Civil Service Department:
Civil Service Commission 601 South East (Basingstoke)
H.M. Customs and Excise:
Part of Accountant and Comptroller General's Office, Debenture Branch Statistical Office and Computer (ADP) Unit 1,100 South East (Southend)
Fart of Accountant and Comptroller General's Office and Training Centres 71 South East (Southend)
Ministry of Defence:
Navy Hydrographer 248 South West (Taunton)
Air Department Accounts 193 West Midlands (Worcester)
RAF Supply Branches 71 North (Carlisle)
RAF Provisioning Staff 246 Yorkshire and Humberside (Harrogate)
Naval Supply and Stores Staff 254 South West (Bath)
Ministry of Defence (Procurement Executive):
Part of Contracts Division 75 North West (Liverpool)
RAF Aero Department 70 South East Farnborough
Department of Education and Science:
Teachers' Salaries and Qualifications Branch,
Teachers' Pension Branch and the ADP Division of Statistics Branch 640 North (Darlington)
Department of Employment:
Selective Employment Payments Unit 137 North West (Runcorn)
Computer Centre 607 North West (Runcorn)
Department of the Environment:
Housing and Construction:—
Supplies Division 233 North West (Liverpool)
Accounts Division 750 South East (Hastings)
Transport Industries:—
Road Research Laboratory 568 South East (Crowthorne)
Forestry Commission:
Headquarters* 145 South East (Basingstoke)
Department of Health and Social Security:
Health Services Superannuation Division 331 North West (Fleetwood)
Home Office:
Supply and Transport Branch 76 East Midlands (Corby)
Inland Revenue:
London Accounts Offices 89 Yorkshire and Humberside (Leeds)
109 North (Newcastle)
65 South East (Southampton)
80 Wales (Newport)
89 North West (Bootle)
94 Yorkshire and Humberside (Bradford)
93 Scotland (Edinburgh)
88 North West (Manchester)
61 South East (Portsmouth)
50 Wales (Cardiff)
50 North (Gateshead)
London PAYE Accounts Office 121 North West (Bootle)
Sections of Head Office Branches 365 South East (Worthing)
London PAYE work 50 South West (Plymouth)
50 Yorkshire and Humberside (Shipley)

Mr. Kenneth Baker

I have been asked to reply.

Information is not available in precisely this form as there is no central record of the exact numbers of posts dispersed by each Department from London each year since 1965. Since May 1963, when the last major dispersal initiative began, offices of the following Departments, each involving 50 post or more, have been dispersed from London:

Department Number of posts Region
London Provincial Districts 158 Yorkshire and Humberside (Bradford)
240 North West (Bootle)
171 North (Gateshead)
2,090 North West (Manchester)
195 North (Middlesbrough)
182 South East (Southampton)
Emergency Units for London PAYE 85 East Midlands (Sheffield)
878 Scotland (Edinburgh)
146 Yorkshire and Humberside (Shipley)
102 South East (Portsmouth)
Land Registry:
Land Charges and Agricultural Credits Department 50 South West (Plymouth)
Department for National Savings:
Savings Certificate Office 1,835 North (Durham)
National Savings Bank 3,681 Scotland (Glasgow)
Ordnance Survey:
Headquarters 700 South East (Southampton)
Passport Offices 87 Wales (Newport)
89 East Anglia (Peterborough)
Paymaster General's Office:
Majority of work 606 South East (Crawley)
Office of Population Censuses and Survey:
Statistics Division 180 South East (Titchfield)
Royal Mint:
New Mint and Decimal Coinage Factory 624 Wales (Llantrisant)
HM Stationery Office:
Reprographic Office 488 South East (Basildon)
Computer Procurement Division, Finance Division, Supplies Division, Establishment Division, Printing and Binding Division 1,103 East Anglia (Norwich)
Department of Trade and Industry:
Gas Standards Branch 50 East Midlands (Leicester)
Business Statistics Office 790 Wales (Newport)
Total 22,504
* To be relocated in Edinburgh

Dispersal of work involving less than 50 posts brings the total dispersed since May 1963 to 22,980. Current plans provide for 7,840 more posts to be dispersed from the London area over the next few years. The figures given above do not include work set up in the new organisations which have been or are to be sited outside London under Government office location policies.