§ Mr. Thorntonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will give figures for each of the last 10 years of the number of people employed in public services under (a)) central Government and (b) local, regional and provincial governments in the United Kingdom, France, West Germany and Italy;
(2) if he will give figures for the number of people employed in the public services in each of the last 10 years in the United Kingdom, France, West Germany and Italy.
§ Mr. BiffenEstimates of the number of people employed in central and local government and in public corporations for each of the last 10 years in the United Kingdom can be found in the November 1979 and November 1980 issues ofEconomic Trends. Corresponding data on a consistent basis for these years for France, West Germany and Italy are not readily available.
Some guidance on international comparisons of public service employment was given in the August 1980 issue of Statistical News together with estimates of employment in general government—mainly non-trading activities within the central and local government sectors—in 1977 for countries of the European Community. The article warned that direct comparisons between countries may not be valid because of institutional differences. Further work is in hand at the Central Statistical Office and the results of this study will be reported in a forthcoming issue of Economic Trends.
References
Economic Trends No. 313 November 1979 pp 90–108, HMSO
504WEconomic Trends No. 325 November 1980, pp 101–109, HMSO
Statistical News No. 50 August 1980 pp 12–13, HMSO