§ Mr. Wrigglesworthasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what effect the operation of cash limits (a) has had in the current year and (b) will have had to the end of the current financial year upon the number and location of staff in his Department.
§ Mr. TomlinsonThe number of staff in post in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, including the Passport Office and Government Communications headquarters, and in missions overseas fell from 10,171 on 1st April to 10,060 on 1st October 1976, the latest date for which complete figures are available. No significant variation from the October figure is expected between now and the end of the financial year. It is impossible to quantify the precise effect on these figures of the operation of cash limits, but they have reinforced other factors tending to reduce the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's manpower totals.