§ Sir David Priceasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food 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. Peter WalkerThe number of civil servants employed in my Ministry at 1 April 1979 was 13,956*. At 1 January 1982 there were 12,502*—a drop of 10.4 per cent. Although the term "first division civil servants" is not a recognised Civil Service terminology, the number of staff employed in the Ministry at Principal and equivalent professional grade and above at these dates was 1,077* and 1,019* respectively—a drop of 5.4 per cent.
*Full time equivalents. Part-time staff are counted as half units.