§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Minister for the Civil Service (1) whether he will give a list of the grades and numbers of civil servants who were, in May 1965, on or near a salary scale of £3,250 per annum; what were the salary scales of these people in May 1978; and, as they would need £10,855 per annum to restore their purchasing ability to the 1965 level, when he expects to rectify this situation;
(2) whether he will give for 1965 the number of civil servants who were then on the salary scale of £3,250 per annum and the number of these who are in recepit of the present day equivalent salary of £10,850 per annum to compensate for the depreciation in the purchasing power of the £ sterling; and to what extent he intends to restore the standard 174W of living of these civil servants to the level they were enjoying in 1965.
§ Mr. Charles R. MorrisI refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 14th June 1978—[Vol. 951, c. 578]. The national salary maxima for these grades in May 1978 were:
£ Principal 8,729 Principal Scientific Officer 8,461 PPTO 8,729 Civil Service pay is not fixed with reference to the index of retail prices. As I announced on 21st November 1977—[Vol. 939, c. 1089–92]—the Pay Research Unit will provide evidence for the Civil Service pay settlement from 1st April 1979 subject, as in the past, to the provisions of any national pay policy.