§ Mrs. Bainasked the Minister for the Civil Services (1) how many Government Departments have in the last four years dispersed staff from London, as envisaged by the Hardman Report of 1973, giving details of the Department involved, the centres to which dispersal was made, the numbers of staff dispersed and the latest available figure of staff recruited at the new centres since dispersal;
(2) what plans his Department has for the dispersal of Government Departments and civil servants from London to other centres for the next four years, giving details of Departments and numbers involved, and the estimated date of dispersal being completed.
§ Mr. Charles R. MorrisBy 1st October 1977, the latest date for which information is available, the following 667W dispersals had taken place as a result of the Government's decisions on the
Department Location Number of posts dispersed Number of staff recruited at the dispersal location Civil Service Department … Basingstoke … 129 6 Sunningdale … 56 3 H.M. Customs and Excise … Southend … 35 14 Department of the Environment … Bristol … 155 57 Council for Small Industries in Rural Areas … Salisbury … 46 26 Export Credits Guarantee Department … Cardiff … 58 15 Foreign and Commonwealth Office … Merseyside … 10 10 Department of Health and Social Security … Newcastle … 222 145 Blackpool … 213 105 Inland Revenue … Bootle … 13 — Bristol … 6 1 Cardiff … 7 3 Cumbernauld … 10 — Edinburgh … 17 — Leeds … 7 1 Liverpool … 17 — Manchester … 21 5 Middlesbrough … 38 — Peterborough … 42 — Sheffield … 23 — Shipley … 10 — Solihull … 19 — Stockport … 32 6 Manpower Services Commission … Sheffield … 50 6 Natural Environment Research Council … Swindon … 123 34 Office of Population Censuses and Surveys … Southport … 36 32 Science Research Council … Swindon … 180 90 H.M. Stationery Office … Norwich … 7 2 Departments of Trade and Industry … Cardiff/Newport … 1,040 671 Countryside Commission … Cheltenham … 100 6 TOTALS … 2,722 1,238 As regards future plans, I would refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. and noble Friend the Lord Privy Seal on 29th July 1977, a copy of which was placed in the Library on 16th December. That statement gave full details of the dispersal programme. It is not possible to make any accurate forecast of the number of posts that will disperse over the next four years as a result of the programme, but the best estimate that can be made is that it will be about 9,000. Details of all dispersals, and also new posts to be established outside London, showing the departments and locations concerned, were given in my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Ince (Mr. McGuire) on 17th January.—["Vol. 942, c. 194–208.]