§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many staff within his Department in the category "intermediate", as defined by the Civil Service pay and conditions code, have permission to engage in local or national political activity.
§ Mr. Ridley[holding answer 27 February 1989]: My Department operates a block permission scheme related to the types of work on which staff are engaged. The number of staff employed in these areas varies over time. In November 1987, a total of 11,801 posts in the PSA and 1,165 in DOE (Central) were covered by permissions. More recent figures are not available.