HC Deb 23 February 1982 vol 18 cc365-6W
Sir David Price

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many civil servants were employed by his Department in May 1979; how many are employed in February 1982; and what has been the percentage change; in each case how many were first division civil servants; and what has been the percentage change in their numbers.

Mr. David Howell

After including 765 staff transferred to my Department during this period from the Department of the Environment, the number of permanent civil servants employed in my Department was 14,673 at 1 April 1979 and 13,192 at 1 January 1982—a reduction of 1,481, or a net 10 per cent. The term "first division civil servants" is not recognised Civil Service terminology, but the number of staff employed at principal and equivalent professional grades and above was 620 and 630 respectively—a net increase of 1.5 per cent. occasioned by the transfer into the Civil Service of a large number of local government road construction staff.