§ Mr. Sproatasked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether, in the light of the recruitment by Lothian regional council of 3,500 extra staff since March 1979, he will take powers to limit recruitment of staff by local authorities.
§ Mr. YoungerI hope that the few authorities which contributed so largely to the total Scottish increase of almost 5,000 staff between March 1979 and March 1980 will now recognise that such action cannot be justified in the present economic climate. Scottish joint manpower watch figures released in June showed a reduc-
Year Total rate income £000 Amount contributed by industry and commerce £000 Proportion of total contributed by industry and commerce Per cent. 1960–61 … … … 77,372 20,194 26.1 1961–62* … … … 92,127 29,849 32.4 1962–63 … … … 96,262 30,708 31.9 1963–64 … … … 104,570 33,985 32.5 1964–65 … … … 112,438 36,542 32.5 1965–66 … … … 122,522 39,942 32.6 1966–67* … … … 144,154 52,760 36.6 1967–68 … … … 149,778 54,819 36.6 1968–69 … … … 159,323 57,994 36.4 1969–70 … … … 177,635 64,659 36.4 1970–71 … … … 207,497 75,736 36.5 1971–72* … … … 239,045 81,275 34.0 1972–73 … … … 253,156 85,567 33.8 1973–74 … … … 285,085 97,214 34.1 1974–75 … … … 334,445 113,377 33.9 1975–76 … … … 436,705 150,663 34.5 1976–77 … … … 508,285 174,850 34.4 1977–78 … … … 593,291 205,279 34.6 1978–79* … … … 617,879 245,916 39.8 1979–80 … … … 720,563 291,828 40.5 * Years of general revaluation.