§ Mr. Wardasked the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what the effect of the staffing cuts in his Department will be on the work of the Transport and Road Research Laboratory;
(2) what was the number of employees in the Transport and Road Research Laboratory on 1 April 1974 and at 31 December 1980;
(3) if there are to be reductions in the staff employed by the Transport and Road Research Laboratory; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. FowlerThe manpower savings programme to be achieved in my Department as a whole by April 1984 includes a reduced demand for in-house research effort by the laboratory in some of its programmes, and consequently there will be staff savings, though it is too early to give a complete account of where in the current programmes these will be made. Between 1 April 1974 and 1 January 1981, however, there was a saving of 248–23 per cent.—in the permanent strength of the laboratory—it reduced from 1,059 to 811.