§ Dr. Cunninghamasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the number of officials taken on within his Department, or from outside, since June 1983 to deal with (a) rates limitation and (b) abolition of the metropolitan counties, listing in each case the numbers and ranks of officials and the estimated cost per year of each group.
§ Mr. Patrick JenkinThe following staff—full-time equivalents—have been assigned to this work since June 1983:
Grade Abolition Rate limitation Under secretary 0.1 1.0 Assistant secretary 1.2 1.0 Principal 1.6 — Higher executive officer (D)/e higher executive officers 2.9 1.0 Executive officer 1.2 0.5 Clerical assistant 0.2 — Senior personal secretary — 1.0 Personal Secretary 1.0 1.0 Typist — 1.0 Total 8.2 6.5 Costs (including on-costs) per year at current prices £229,000 £180,000 In addition, four staff—senior principal, HEO(D), clerical officer and personal secretary — have been allocated to work on the presentation of the range of policies affecting local government; and one member of 215W the information directorate—a senior information officer — has been assigned to work with them. The cost, including on-costs, per year of the five staff is £115,000 at current prices.
All of these posts are within my Department's overall manpower target. All the staff concerned have been redeployed from other duties with the exception of one executive officer, who was a new entrant to the Civil Service.