§ Mr. Wrigglesworthasked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection what was the total cost of, and number of people employed in her Department in 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1973–74 and 1974–75.
§ Mrs. Shirley WilliamsMy Department was created on 5th March 1974. The average number of people employed during the financial year 1974–75 was 256, and their total cost was £1,466,000. This does not include staff of the Price Commission, the Office of Fair Trading, the Monopolies Commission or the Metrication Board.
§ Mr. Wrigglesworthasked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection by how many the number of civil servants in her Department and other categories of public sector officials, including any industrial civil servants, increased between 1970–71 and 1974–75.
§ Mrs. Shirley WilliamsIt is not possible to make this comparison, since 1974–75 was the first year of my Department's existence.