§ Mr. Awdryasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has now decided what staff reductions will be possible as a result of the review of his Department's work and advisory services; and when they will be achieved.
§ Mr. PriorIn the White Paper on Proposed Changes in the Work of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Cmnd. 4564) which I presented to the House in January, 1971, it was estimated that the staff reductions that might be possible as a result of the review of functions, reorganisation and the new advisory objectives for A.D.A.S. might amount to between 5 per cent. and 10 per cent. of the total staff of the Department over the period to 1974.
Provisional complements for 1st April, 1974, have now been worked out for those parts of the regional organisation and A.D.A.S. affected by decisions recorded in the White Paper or reached since. Taken alone these would imply a reduction of about 7 per cent. on the total staff of the Department in October, 1970, but since that date numbers have 193W already fallen by nearly 3 per cent. Moreover additional staff will be required elsewhere in the Department over the next two years because of increased work on such things as brucellosis and United Kingdom entry into E.E.C. These requirements cannot yet be fully quantified but are likely to entail a significant increase in the work load on the Department. It is hoped that the great majority of the staff reductions which will have to be effected can be secured by wastage, including retirement and resignations.