§ Mr. Wrigglesworthasked the Minister for the Civil Service if any of the 325 staff savings in other Departments announced in his statement on 6 December 505W 1979 have yet been made; and, if not, when he expects them to be achieved and in what divisions, at what grades and in which geographical regions.
§ Mr. ChannonOf the staff savings in other Departments which I announced on 6 December 1979, some 145 have already been made. The remainder will be achieved by 1983–84. Information is not available centrally on the divisions, grades and geographical regions in which these remaining savings will occur, and could only be collected at disproportionate cost.
§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Minister for the Civil Service how the figure of £500 million savings in the cost of central Government as a result of cuts in Civil Service manpower was arrived at; and if he will list the savings that he expects to achieve at each grade of the Civil Service, and the numbers in each case.
§ Mr. ChannonAs my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister told the House on 13 May, we intend to reduce the size of the Civil Service by about 75,000 over the next four years. The annual cost of the wages and salaries—including employers' national insurance contribution—of this number of staff on current average rates of pay is some £500 million per annum. Ministers are formulating detailed plans to achieve the reductions in their own Departments and it is too early to say how the savings will affect each grade in the Civil Service.
§ Mr. Andersonasked the Minister for the Civil Service what reductions in Civil Service jobs in Wales he expects in each of the next three years.
§ Mr. ChannonIt is too soon to make a reliable estimate, but there is no reason to assume at this stage that the reductions in Wales will vary significantly from other parts of the country.