§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for the Environment which of the servicest currently carried out by his Department he proposes to transfer to the private sector as a result of proposed cuts in the Civil Service; how many staff will be saved in each case, and at what cost; and how much it will cost to have those services carried out by the private sector.
§ Mr. Heseltine[pursuant to his reply, 13 December, 1979]: I propose to transfer the Hydraulics Research Station outside the Civil Service. This will reduce the staff of my Department by 290 and save 68W some£1.7 million gross per annum. Future departmental expenditure would be directly related to the use made of the facilities.
In addition, I am proposing that the Property Services Agency should make more use of contractors generally. The process will be a gradual one which would extend over the next four or five years. It would lead to a reduction in the wages bill by 1982–83 of about£15.3 million. The costs of using the private sector will depend on which work is carried out there.