§ Mr. Lathamasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will bring up to date his answer to the hon. Member for Melton on 23 July 1979, regarding the size and cost of his Department.
§ Mr. HeseltineOn 1 April 1980 the total number of staff in post in the Department of the Environment, including the Property Services Agency, was 48,280, of whom 28,177 were non-industrial and 20,103 were industrial. This represents a reduction of 7.4 per cent. since the General Election.
The net cost to public funds of running the Department during the financial year ending 31 March 1980 is provisionally estimated to be some £366 million made up as follows (at outturn prices):
£m Wages and salaries 144.8 General Administrative Expenditure 77 Accommodation and HMSO 43.6 Pay and overheads of PSA industrials on maintenance work 100.5 TOTAL 365.9 As in the answer I gave to my hon. Friend on 23 July 1979, the staff numbers in this answer exclude casually or seasonally-employed staff and PSA staff locally engaged overseas. They also exclude the Ordnance Survey.