§ Mr. Denis Howellasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proportion of the savings of 400 staff he anticipates will be made as a result of his 357W proposals for altering the administration of farm capital grants is attributable to the abolition of the prior approval procedure in each of the years between 1981 and 1984; and how his estimates have been calculated.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerThe estimated saving of 400 staff will result from the overall simplification of the capital grant schemes. It is not possible to quantify precisely the contribution made by any single simplification but the abolition of the prior approval requirement is the major one.
As I indicated in the reply I gave the right hon. Member on 9 July we do not expect to achieve the savings in full until 1983–84 because work will continue under the existing schemes for several years after they have been closed to new applications.—[Vol. 988, c. 181.]
§ Mr. Denis Howellasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions he has held with the trades unions representing the interests of the staff in his Department concerning staff savings as a result of his proposals for changes in the administration of farm capital grants.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerI personally met the departmental staff side on 19 December to discuss the recommendations resulting from a report on the administration of the capital grant schemes prepared in consultation with Sir Derek Rayner. Since then my officials have had several meetings with representatives of the staff in my Department and have kept them closely informed of the proposals and any changes as they have evolved. We shall, of course, have further meetings as appropriate.
§ Mr. Denis Howellasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many staff in each grade in his Department's headquarters and in each of its regions will be saved in each of the years from 1981 to 1984 as a result of his proposals for changes in the administration of farm capital grants.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerI cannot be more specific about the timing of the savings than I was in my reply to the right hon. Member on 9 July.—[Vol. 988, c.181.] The changes will mainly affect staff serving in the regions and my provisional 358W analysis of the savings is that there will be 150 in the agricultural development and advisory service and 250 amongst administrative staff. I cannot give specific information about grades.