§ Mr. Michael Lathamasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total number of staff in his Department; and what is the current cost to public funds, including salaries, pensions and overheads, of running it.
§ Mr. ShoreOn 1st October 1978 the total number of staff in post in the Department of the Environment, including the Property Services Agency, was 52,739, of whom 29,710 were non-industrial and 23,029 were industrial. These figures include 3,300 staff providing a common service for the Departments of the Environment and Transport in respect of whom the latter Department makes an assessed contribution to costs. They also include some 1,684 staff in the joint regional offices of the two Departments.
The net cost to public funds of running the Department during the current financial year is estimated to be some £340 million, made up as follows:
£million Wages and salaries 131.8 General Administrative Expenditure 69.9 Accommodation 41.3 Pay and overheads of PSA industrials on maintenance work 97.3 Total 340.3 These figures include no element in respect of superannuation costs, which are calculated on a service-wide basis.