Mr. Jim Callaghanasked the Minister of Transport how many staff are employed in each of the road construction units in England; how many of these staff are of his Department and how many are seconded from local authorities; and what are the estimated staffing figures for 1980–81 for these units.
§ Mr. FowlerThe total number of staff employed by each of the six road construction units at 1 April 1980 was as follows:
RCU Civil servants Local Authority Total Eastern 42 393 435 Midland 20 333 353 North Western 35 330 365 North Eastern 21 411 432 South Eastern 42 526 568 South Western 29 231 260 189 2224 2413 The 1 April 1980 figure is expected to reduce by about 150 over the year due to changes in the trunk road programme announced recently in the policy for roads White Paper.
Following the Rayner scrutiny of the road construction unit organisation, I announced on 6 March my decision to phase out sub-units by transferring their work to consultants and county councils. Until the action study is complete, I cannot give an accurate estimate of further reductions.