Mr. Ted Fletcherasked the Minister for the Civil Service whether discussions are taking place with the Civil Service unions on the question of staff cuts; and whether there is a confidentiality ban on the nature of the discussions.
§ Mr. Charles R. MorrisAs I explained in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Burnley (Mr. Jones) on 29th July, discussions between departmental managements and their staff sides are proceeding. The confidential basis of the discussions of the proposed savings with the National Staff Side has now been put aside.
§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Minister for the Civil Service whether he will give a breakdown of the proposed cuts in the number of civil servants, showing to what extent these cuts will be made in the top 10 highest paid grades of civil servants, the next 10 highest paid and the 20 lowest paid grades of civil servants.
§ Mr. Charles R. MorrisIn reply to a Question from my hon. Friend the520W Member for Burnley (Mr. Jones) on 29th July, I set out the attribution to Departments of the savings in expenditure on Civil Service manpower and related administration. The detailed implementation of these decisions is now a matter for discussion between the managements of each department and the appropriate Staff Side interests. The financial savings flowing from the Government's decisions will be monitored by my Department, but the required information on the division of the savings between grades is not available centrally.