§ Mr. David Atkinsonasked the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of the working population were employed by Government, local authorities and nationalised industries on (a) 1st January 1978, (b) 1st January 1974, (c) 1st January 1968 and (d) 1st January 1964.
§ Mr. Golding, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 3rd March 1978], gave the following answer:
507WThe information is not available in the precise form requested. The following table gives percentages of the working population of the United Kingdom employed in central Government, local authorities and public corporations—including nationalised industries—for June of each of the years 1964, 1968, 1974 and for 1976, the latest year for which information is available:
Central Government Local Authorities Public Corporations Total 1964 … 7.0 8.3 8.2 23.5 1968 … 7.4 9.6 8.2 25.2 1974 … 8.2 11.1 7.7 27.0 1976 … 9.0 11.6 7.5 28.0 NOTES
1. For years before 1974 separate figures are not available for nationalised industries. In 1974 and 1976 the percentage of the working population employed in nationalised industries was 6.7 and 6.5, respectively.
2. Central Government consists of all Government Departments—including Northern Ireland Departments—together with Her Majesty's Forces and Women's Services and a number of other organisations such as the National Health Service and the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, and the Forestry Commission.
3. Local authorities consist of all local government authorities which have power to raise funds by means of rates or levies.
4. Public corporations consist of the nationalised industries, including the Post Office, and a number of other public trading bodies—for example, the Bank of England, the British Broadcasting Corporation, the Civil Aviation Authority and, from 1974, the new regional water authorities—all of whose finances are not subject to detailed control by Parliament.
5. The working population consists of employees in employment, self-employed people—with or without employees—Her Majesty's Forces and the Women's Services and the registered unemployed, excluding adult students.