§ Mr. Onslowasked the President of the Board of Trade what increase or decrease there was in the staff of the Department under his control in the period 16th October, 1964 to 15th October, 1965; and what increase or decrease he anticipates in the period up to 15th April, 1966.
§ Mr. JayDuring this period the staff of the Board of Trade increased by 1,356. The bulk of the increase was due to the fact that the Board gained about 1,800 staff dealing with shipping and related matters from the Ministry of Transport whilst losing some 600 to the Diplomatic Service. Over the same period, the staff of the Export Credits Guarantee Department increased by 46. It is difficult to forecast the staff position by 15th April, 1966; but further increases of the order of 250 and 80 in the staffs of the Board of Trade and the Export Credits Guarantee Department respectively are expected.