HC Deb 14 April 1980 vol 982 cc452-3W
Mr. Sainsbury

asked the Secretary of State for Trade how many full-time staff in his Department are responsible for the retail and distributive industry.

Mr. Eyre

Three staff are engaged full time on work related to this Department's sponsorship responsibilities for the non-food distributive industry, which includes retailing, and certain high street trades. A substantial part of the time of staff on more general subjects, such as competition policy and consumer affairs, is spent on matters relevant to the distributive industry. In addition, staff in the group that provides a common service to the Departments of Trade and Industry are engaged in the preparation of statistical information covering the whole of the distributive industry.