§ 23. Mr. Wattsasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the reduction in the number of staff in post in central Government Departments between May 1979 and the latest date for which figures are available; and which is the last year in which a lower number was in post.
§ Mr. BrookeAt 1 January 1986 (against a target of 600,475 on 1 April 1986), there were 596,506 staff in central Government Departments, a reduction of 135,769 since 1 April 1979. There was a lower figure at 1 October 1985 (595,764). The next comparable figure was in 1939 when there were 347,000 staff in Government Departments. No figures are available for the years 1940–43, but by 1 April 1944 staff in post numbers had risen to nearly 1.2 million.