§ Mr. Alexander Fletcherask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will show the date and amount of salary and wage increases to local government employees in Scotland since 1st May 1974.
§ Mr. William RossSalaries and wages of their employees are fixed by local authorities within nationally negotiated scales. I am asking the National Joint Council for Local Authorities' Services (Scottish Councils) and the various joint negotiating committees to make available copies of the circulars issued to local authorities giving details of agreed salary scales and increases, and I will place a514W copy of these in the Library as soon as possible.
§ Mr. Alexander Fletcherasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the salary and position of each senior official, i.e., the top 10 appointments, in each regional, island and district authority (a) before appointment, where the official was employed in local government, (b) on appointment, (c) date and amount of any salary increases, and (d) salary and position at the latest date.
§ Mr. William RossThe salaries paid to individual officers are a matter for the local authority concerned to decide within the scales recommended by the national joint councils. The information requested is not available to me.
§ Mr. Alexander Fletcherasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the actual and projected savings in staff and staff salaries as a result of the reoganisation of local government in Scotland.
§ Mr. William RossInformation about staff numbers before and after reorganisation is being collected by the Scottish Councils of the National Joint Councils of Local Authorities' Services, but is not yet available.
§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish details of the recent salary agreement affecting the salaries of principal officers in Scottish local government; what will be the total annual cost of the award; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. William RossI refer the hon. Member to the replies given today to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, North (Mr. Fletcher). It is not at present possible to indicate the total annual cost of the award, as the collection of the necessary information has yet to be completed.
§ Mr. Grimondasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what were the original limits for the salaries of the directors of the new regions; what increases have been approved since then; what their pensions are; how far they contribute to them; and how far they are indexed against inflation.
§ Mr. William RossI refer the right hon. Member to the replies given today 515W to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, North (Mr. Fletcher). The Local Government Superannuation Scheme provides for payments based on a retirement pension one-eightieth of pensionable remuneration, and a retiring allowance of up to three-eightieths, for each year of reckonable service. Contributions are in general payable at a rate of 6 per cent of remuneration, and pensions payable under the scheme attract pensions increase in accordance with the provisions of the Pensions (Increase) Act 1971.
§ Mr. Sproatasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the number of employees of all local authorities in Scotland at the latest available date; and what was the figure 10 and 20 years ago, respectively.
§ Mr. John FraserI have been asked to reply.
At June 1974, the most recent date for which the information is available, about 242,000 people in Scotland were employed by local authorities. The corresponding figure for 1964 was about 182,000 and for 1954, about 152,000. The statistics do not include the police force and traffic wardens. By virtue of the Transport Act 1968 some public transport
P/Dozen—Grade 4 eggs (a) (b) (c) United Kingdom MCA (paid to United Kingdom importer) French MCA* (paid by French exporter) Net (c) (i.e. (a)-(b)) 1974— July … … … … … 0.90 1.08 +0.18 August … … … … … 0.85 0.86 +0.01 September … … … … … 0.85 0.65 -0.20 October … … … … … 0.80 0.55 -0.25 November … … … … … 0.49 0.64 +0.15 December … … … … … 0.72 0.78 +0.06 1975— January … … … … … 0.87 0.65 -0.22 February … … … … … 0.96 0.66 -0.30 March … … … … … 0.96 0.68 -0.28 April … … … … … 0.96 0.53 -0.43 May … … … … … 0.96 0.28 -0.68 June … … … … … 1.24 — -1.24 * Calculated from French francs into sterling at the rate applicable on the first day of the month. + Indicates net levy. - Indicates net refund.
§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a further statement on the progress made by the French Govern-
516Wport undertakings formerly operated by local authorities were taken over by passenger transport authorities and are not included in the figures for June 1974.