§ Mr. Brothertonasked the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the total cost to public funds of the Manpower Services Commission since its formation; what reduction there has been in the cost to public funds of the commission since May 1979; what is the total number of staff currently employed by the commission; how this compares with the position in each year since its formation; and if he will state by how much the commission has overspent or underspent its budget in each year since its formation.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonThe estimated total cost to public funds of the Manpower Services Commission (MSC) since it came into being in April 1974 to the end of the current344W financial year is about £3,026 million. Details of MSC's estimated grant-in-aid and actual expenditure on programmes financed through the grant-in-aid since its formation are:
Year MSC's Grant-in-aid Actual Expenditure Difference £000s £000s £000s 1974–75 105,395 96,363 9,032 1975–76 278,236 250,443 27,793 1976–77 410,911 369,486 41,420 1977–78 466,836 432,417 34,419 1978–79 547,491 507,771 39,720 1979–80 623,306 609,415 13,891 1980–81 *760,093 †760,093 — 3,192,268 3,025,988 166,280 * Subject to parliamentary approval of the Spring Supplementary Estimates. † Forecast outturn. The estimated reduction in planned expenditure by the MSC under the grant-in-aid since May 1979 was £66.8 million in 1979–80 and £109.3 million in 1980–81, both amounts at 1979 survey prices.
Numbers of staff employed by the MSC and its agencies on 1 October each year since its formation are as follows:
Total staff 1 October 1974 18,150 1 October 1975 20,385 1 October 1976 22,314 1 October 1977 23,545 1 October 1978 24,652 1 October 1979 25,067 1 October 1980 23,968