§ Mr. Michael Lathamasked the Minister for the Civil Service if he will bring up to date the table of Civil Service staff increases given in his reply to the hon. Member for Pembroke (Mr. Edwards) on 8th March 1976, Official Report, column 36; and if he will briefly outline the legislative or policy reasons which cause a variation in staff manpower between 1st January and 1st April 1976 wherever applicable.
§ Mr. Charles R. MorrisThe number of staff in post, by Department, on 1st March 1974 and 1st April 1976 is given below.
The reasons for the major variations in staff between 1st January and 1st April 1976 are as follows:
Inland Revenue (+1,198): Growth in the overall number of taxpayers, and in the number liable at other than the basic rate; the build up of work on the reconstructed national insurance scheme under the Social Security Act 1973; new work arising from the Finance and Finance (No. 2) Acts 1975; and improved recruitment.
Department of Employment (+2,166): Increased numbers of staff on unemployment benefit work as a result of recruiting civil servants to carry out duties previously performed by casual staff, whose numbers have been reduced. The reduction in the number of casual staff in this area is some 300 less than the number of civil servants thus recruited because of the need for staff to pay benefits to students during the Easter vacation and to work on the annual census of employment Additionally, there were increases in the Department's agencies, largely in the Training Services Agency to meet the need for increased TOPS work and in the Health and Safety Executive—increased work resulting from the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
Department of Health and Social Security (+1,538): Mainly increased supplementary benefit work as a result 501W of rising unemployment levels in previous quarters, partly offset by some reduction in the number of casual staff on this work. To a lesser extent some preparatory work on child benefits, establishment of security messengers engaged initially on a casual basis, and revised
CIVIL SERVICE MANPOWER Staff in Post at 1st March 1974 Staff in Post at 1st April 1976 Department Non-Industrials Industrials Total Non-Industrials Industrials Total Cabinet Office 599 — 599 680 — 680 Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food* 14,328 1,133 15,461 14,932 1,190 16,122 HM Treasury 997 — 997 1,132 — 1,132 HM Customs and Excise 24,932 — 24,932 29,390 — 29,390 Inland Revenue 69,659 33 69,692 80,250 29 80,279 Department for National Savings 13,435 132 13,567 13,323 97 13,420 Department of Education and Science† 3,858 83 3,941 4,035 106 4,141 Department of Employment‡ 32,080 1,577 33,657 45,835 1,872 47,707 Department of Energy 1,364 82 1,446 1,359 11 1,370 Department of the Environment § 42,034 27,480 69,514 46,187 26,809 72,996 Ordnance Survey 4,151 371 4,522 4,071 373 4,444 Foreign and Commonwealth Office 9,967 250 10,217 9,933 238 10,171 Ministry of Overseas Development 2,123 48 2,171 2,312 55 2,367 Home Office 24,858 3,652 28,510 28,510 3,757 32,267 Lord Chancellor's Office and Courts etc 9,428 — 9,428 9,806 — 9,806 Land Registry 4,838 5 4,843 5,001 6 5,007 Civil Service Department 3,492 1,601 5,093 3,873 1,588 5,461 Central Office of Information 1,188 63 1,251 1,308 63 1,371 H M Stationery Office 3,142 4,037 7,179 3,310 4,102 7,412 Scottish Office 9,052 755 9,807 10,024 723 10,747 Scottish Courts Administration etc 731 4 735 736 4 740
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Staff in Post at 1st March 1974 Staff in Post at 1st April 1976 Department Non-Industrials Industrials Total Non-Industrials Industrials Total Department of Health and Social Security 82,331 209 82,540 92,846 255 93,101 Office of Population Censuses and Surveys 2,706 18 2,724 2,621 24 2,645 Department of Trade║ 16,550 805 17,355 7,916 46 7,962 Department of Industry║ — — — 9,352 788 10,140 Department of Prices and Consumer Protection║ — — — 382 — 382 Export Credits Guarantee Department 1,642 — 1,642 1,915 — 1,915 Welsh Office 1,091 2 1,093 1,521 2 1,523 Ministry of Defence 128,535 139,231 267,766 130,063 136,166 266,229 All Other Departments 5,548 829 6,377 5,883 804 6,687 Total 514,659 182,400 697,059 568,506 179,108 747,614 All figures include part-time staff counted as one half * Includes staff of the Intervention Board for Agricultural Produce. † Includes staff of the Victoria and Albert and Science Museums. ‡ Includes on 1st April 1976 staff of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, the Health and Safety Commission/Executive, the Manpower Services Commission and its agencies. § Includes staff of the Property Services Agency. ║ These three Departments formed the Department of Trade and Industry at 1st March 1974. local office complements following reassessment of workloads.
Ministry of Defence (-2,019): The net reduction reflects the initial stages in the rundown under the defence review, together with seasonal variations in manning levels.