§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what reasons underlay the change in the number of staff employed by his Department between(a) 1996 and 1997 and (b) 2001 and 2002; and if he will make a statement. [81724]
§ Mr. Stephen Twigg[holding answer 20 November 2002]: The merger of the Department for Education and the Employment Department Group to form the Department for Education and Employment in 1995 led to substantial savings in support service jobs as the new departmental structure rolled out over the following two years. Between April 1996 and March 1997 the Department managed the voluntary early release of 542 staff.
Machinery of Government changes following the General Election in 2001 transferred responsibility for the employment portfolio away from the newly created Department for Education and Skills. As a result some 700 staff moved to one of the four Departments which now share that responsibility: the Department for Work and Pensions, Home Office, the Department for Trade and Industry and Cabinet Office.