§ Viscount Ecclesasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will make a statement on the latest position in the Civil Service pay dispute.
§ Lord SoamesI am glad to say that the Government's revised offer of a 7 per cent. increase plus a flat rate increase of £30 a head has been accepted and that an early return to work has been agreed. We must now put this unfortunate dispute behind us. There is a considerable backlog of work and I am confident that all civil servants will be doing what they can to restore those services to the public which have been disrupted during the dispute.