§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his latest estimate of the total number of people employed by the local authorities; and how this compares with the numbers employed in each year since 1960.
§ Mr. ShoreThe numbers of full and part-time employees in local authorities in England and Wales, including police, but excluding police civilians, traffic wardens, police cadets, agency, magistrates' courts and probation staffs on 10th March 1978 were 2,574,000. Comparable figures for mid-June of each year since 1960 were:
Mid-June Thousands 1960 1,532 1961 1,576 1962 1,638 1963 1,697 1964 1,772 1965 1,827 1966 1,919 1967 2,001 1968 2,069 1969 2,124 1970 2,162 1971 2,234 1972 2,340 1973 2,454 1974 2,443 1975 2,556 1976 2,574 1977 2,556