§ Mr. Soamesasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the number of staff in post in central Government Departments on 1 January.
§ Mr. LawsonAt 1 January 1984 there were 632,600 staff in post — 508,900 non-industrial and 123,700 industrial—which represents a reduction of 3,700 since 1 October 1983. The total number of civil servants has fallen by 99,700 or 13.6 per cent. since the beginning of the last Parliament.