§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Industry whether he will give the total number of staff employed in his Department on 1 May 1979 and the total staff costs, with similar details for 1 January; and what action he proposes to take to reduce the costs of administration of his Department during the current year.
§ Mr. David MitchellOn 1 May 1979 there were 9,500 staff in post and payments of salaries, overtime and employers' national insurance contributions for May totalled £4.431 million. On 1 January 1980 there were 9,187 staff in post; the most recent month for which payment details are available is November 1979, when the total was £5.025 million. In May no payment had yet been made in respect of the 1979–80 pay settlement; the November payments included a pay increase of 14 per cent. agreed by the previous Administration and also took account of increased London weighting.
Efforts will continue to be made to reduce the cost of administration. In particular, the number of staff will be reduced following the review of the size and cost of the Civil Service, the results of which were announced on 6 December 1979 by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Civil Service Department. More generally, Sir Derek Rayner has been invited to assist in projects to help improve efficiency in selected areas of my Department.