§ Mr. Geraint HowellsTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people are currently employed at the Welsh Office Agricultural Department in Aberystwyth Ceredigion; and what were the corresponding figures for 1974, 1978, 1982, and 1987.
§ Mr. Peter Walker[holding answer 27 June 1988]: My Department assumed responsibility for agriculture in Wales in 1978, since when the number of Welsh Office staff in post at Aberystwyth and Trawsgoed at the other dates requested was as follows:
Year Number 1 June 1978 150 1 June 1982 127 1 June 1987 101 1 June 1988 95 A reduction of 55 since 1978. Over the same period the staffing of the Welsh Office Agriculture Department as a whole reduced by 204.