§ Mr. Donald Stewartasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the total amount spent on local authority wages and salaries in Scotland in each of the last five years.
§ Mr. William RossThe following estimates of staff costs including superannuation and national insurance are based on returns made by local authorities in Scotland:
£m 1970–71 280 1971–72 325 1972–73 385 1973–74 440 1974–75 590
§ Mr. Gourlayasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement about the information issued by the National Joint Councils on the numbers of persons employed by Scottish local authorities.
§ Mr. William RossI am arranging for copies of the NJC summary to be placed in the Library, but the information which I think is of particular interest is summarised below.
504W
STAFF BY CATEGORIES AT 16TH MAY 1975 Per cent. Weekly paid staff 53.19 Teachers and lecturers 24.64 Other services in the field 11.26 Administration: Chiefs and deputes 0.55 APTC Administration 2.45 Clerical/typing etc. 7.91 10.91 100.00 Comparison of totals
Leaving out teachers and lecturers, police and firemen and the transferred employees—water and some social work and health functions—the "before and after" figures were as follows:
The increase of 4,853 is an increase of 2.69 per cent. in the four month period covering reorganisation.
15th–16th January 1975 16th May 1975 Salaried staff 53,115 54,254 Weekly paid staff 127,355 131,069 180,470 185,323
CHANGES IN NUMBERS BETWEEN 15TH–16TH JANUARY AND 16TH MAY 1975 Increases: Craftsmen 1,985 Manual workers 1,705 GGPTE (wage earners) 24 APTC grades 1,712 5,426 Decreases: Chiefs and deputes 566 GGPTE (salaried) 7 573 4,853 While the increase is less than the comparable figure in respect of reorganisation in England and Wales, I consider that any rise in total numbers is a matter for concern and have emphasised to local authorities the importance in their current economic situation of tightly restricting their manpower and expenditure. A Joint Staff Watch is now being mounted by the Scottish Office and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities to keep staff numbers under continuing and regular review.
Comparison with Department of Employment Figures
The Department of Employment figures quoted by the NJC relate to a different period and, although collected from the same authorities, are analysed in a different manner and are therefore not directly comparable. Discussions are in progress so that both the figures required for the Department of Employment returns and those for the new Joint Staff Watch can be obtained through a single process.