§ Mr. D. E. Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Wales how many employees are at present in the agriculture department of the Welsh Office and where these posts are distributed; what is the cost of transferring 25 key posts from Aberystwyth to Cardiff; and what is the justification for doing so.
§ Mr. Nicholas EdwardsThe following table summarises the present staffing of the Welsh Office agriculture department:
Permanent Staff at 1 March 1981 Headquarters Cardiff 23 Aberystwyth (including Trawsgoed and Pwllpeiran) 142 Divisional Offices including out-stationed staff) Caernarfon 93 Cardiff 64 Carmarthen 117 Llandrindod Wells 103 Ruthin 73 The purpose of the transfer is to improve the management and efficiency of the Welsh Office and to facilitate the provision of advice to Ministers on commodities and animal health matters, in particular by bringing together the staff dealing with the inter-related subjects of commodities and the common agricultural policy who are presently located in both Aberystwyth and Cardiff. It is not possible at present to make precise estimates of the costs, but the probability is that it would fall in the range £100,000–£150,000.