§ Mr. Lawrenceasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the annual cost of the agricultural census branch office in each of the past five years.
§ Mr. John SilkinThe current annual cost of the agricultural census branch office is estimated to be £595,000. In addition to salaries, this figure includes allowances for accommodation, common services, general overheads, senior management and HMSO and Post Office charges, but not the specialised cost of printing and despatching census forms. Comparable figures for earlier years are not readily available, but they would reflect the lower level of salaries and overheads rather than any increase in staff numbers, which apart from staff now engaged on work previously done in local offices, have shown little change over the past five years.
§ Mr. Lawrenceasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many people are employed at the agricultural census branch office.
§ Mr. John SilkinEighty-two.