§ 38. Mr. Wallerasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will provide a breakdown by grade of the posts which have ceased to exist in his Department since May 1979.
§ Mr. HeseltineThe Department's staff fell by 3,842 between 1 May 1979 and 1 April this year, or by 7.4 per cent., consisting of 1,496 non-industrial staff and 2,346 industrial staff. The overall balance between the Civil Service grades and departmental posts which remain vacant or which cease to exist and those which are created or filled is, however, constantly changing. A full breakdown of the situation at present would therefore548W be disproportionately expensive to provide and would rapidly become outdated, although I do not expect the net saving achieved so far to be eroded in any way.