§ Mr. Peter Bruinvelsasked the Prime Minister if she will publish in the Official Report the total numbers of full and part-time civil servants employed in each year since 1970 up to the most recent date for which figures are available, indicating in percentage terms the proportion that each figure represents of the total working population: and if she will make a statement.
§ The Prime MinisterThe figures are set out in the following table. I believe they speak for themselves.
Civil Servants in Great Britain 1 January Full-time Part-time* Total Civil Service as a percentage of the employed labour force† 1970 686,600 28,100 2.9 1971 690,100 26,200 3.0 1972 688,100 27,600 3.0 1973 679,900 25,500 2.9 1974 680,800 27,100 2.9 1975 679,500 28,800 2.9 1976 729,200 31,800 3.1 1977 730,600 31,100 3.1 1978 722,900 30,100 3.1 1979 718,400 29,600 3.0 1980 693,200 28,800 2.9 1981 681,400 27,300 2.9 1982 662,800 25,200 2.9 1983 641,200 22,700 2.8 1984 622,000 21,200 2.7 Sources: Her Majesty's Treasury and Civil Service Department Records; Department of Employment‡.
* Part-time staff are shown as whole units and are treated as such in the calculation of the column of percentages. The more usual practice for Civil Service manpower counts and targets is to treat them as half units.
† Figures for the employed labour force include employers, the self-employed and members of Her Majesty's forces but exclude the unemployed. For all years to 1983, Department of Employment estimates for the previous mid-December dates have been used. For;.984 the percentages are based on mid-September 1983 figures.
‡Machinery of Government changes affect the comparability of figures throughout the period shown. Details are given in the 1983 and earlier editions of "Civil Service Statistics", copies of which are available in the House of Commons Library.