§ Mr. Robert Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out the number of employees in the public service in each of the metropolitan authorities and the estimated number of redundancies anticipated through the proposed Government reorganisation.
§ Mr. WaldegraveThe latest available figures for the numbers of staff employed by the metropolitan authorities are shown in the March 1984 survey by the joint manpower watch published on 26 June 1984. Copies are available in the Library. We are confident that our proposals to abolish the GLC and the six metropolitan county councils will result in a substantial reduction in the overall numbers of local government posts in the metropolitan areas. Redeployment, natural wastage, and voluntary retirement will all play their part in contributing to savings. No reliable estimate of redundancies can, therefore, be made.