§ Mr. Heddleasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total establishment and the number of civil servants in post in his Department; and what has been the total reduction in civil servants in his Department since May 1979.
§ Mr. WhitelawThe current planned provision for staff in post on 1 April 1981 is 35,400 and the number in post on 1 December 1980 was 35,442.
The number of staff in post has increased by 1,990 since 1 May 1979, of whom over 1,700 are in prison department outstations and the rest are in police support and immigration control, reflecting the priority which the Government continue to attach to these services. Reductions in the planned provision for Home Office staff during this and subsequent years are in accordance with the announcements made by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Civil Service Department on 6 December 1979, and 14 March and 27 November 1980.