§ Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many public appointments are in his gift; what are the salaries and expenses payable; what is the total cost; and what were the comparable figures for 1970.
§ Mr. StrangMy right hon. Friend is responsible for making 347 appointments, of which 101 are salaried; he626W shares the responsibility for some of these appointments with his right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, as appropriate. The annual total cost relaing to the salaried appointments is about £168,000; in addition, travelling expenses and subsistence allowances are normally payable. I regret that comparable figures for 1970 are not readily available.