HC Deb 18 December 1980 vol 996 cc308-9W
Mr. Colin Shepherd

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many people are presently employed by the Sports Council; and what has been the average level of employment for each of the years since its formation.

Mr. Monro

The Sports Council currently employs 560 staff, the majority in its regional offices and the national centres at Crystal Palace, Bisham Abbey, Lilleshall, Cowes, Plas y Brenin and Holme Pierrepont. The average level of employment for each of the years since 1972 is:

1972 450
1973 490

1974 510
1975 515
1976 520
1977 525
1978 545
1979 550

Part-time posts have been rounded up to equate to full-time posts.

Mr. Colin Shepherd

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the total spending of the Sports Council for each of the years since its formation; and what percentage of this has come from public funds.

Mr. Monro

The information is as follows:

Total spend £ million Percentage of public funds
1972–73 4.345 85.36
1973–74 6.018 86.67
1974–75 7.584 89.24
1975–76 9.904 86.98
1976–77 11.461 91.99
1977–78 13.525 87.88
1978–79 17.198 90.70
1979–80 18.198 88.32

In order to give a regular basis for comparison over the period in question, this information has been extracted from the council's income and expenditure accounts presented annually to the Department. It will differ slightly form the presentation of financial statistics given in the council's annual reports, the format of these having changed over the years.

Mr. Colin Shepherd

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the cost of administering the Sports Council for each year since its formation.

Mr. Monro

The cost of the salaries and superannuation of the Sports Council's headquarters and regional staff for the years in question is as follows:

£ million
1972–73 0.581
1973–74 0.726
1974–75 0.940
1975–76 1.359
1976–77 1.377
1977–78 1.491
1978–79 1.671
1979–80 2.083

These figures cover administrative, technical and development services, but do not include the national centres.