§ Mr. Hunterasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion of the time of Ministers in his Department is devoted to matters relating to sport and recreation (a) in Parliament, (b) in his Department's offices and (c) in official attendance at sporting events and functions.
§ Mr. MacfarlaneMy Ministerial duties within the Department of the Environment include town and country, mineral planning, Land use planning, ancient monuments and historic buildings, Royal parks, Royal palaces, archaeology and gipsies. I have additional responsibility for sport and recreation.
The proportion of time devoted to each subject varies widely. Taken regularly over a seven-day period, it is 42W likely that I will spend anything between 20 per cent. and occasionally 60 per cent. on my special responsibility as Minister for Sport.
§ Mr. Hunterasked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many members of the staff of his Department and of what grades are employed (a) for the whole of their time and (b) for part of their time on matters relating to sport and recreation.
§ Mr. MacfarlaneThere are currently 14 officials within my Department working full time on matters relating to sport and recreation. The grades of those officials are; one assistant secretary, one principal, one senior executive officer, 3 higher executive officers, 5 executive officers, one clerical officer, one clerical assistant and one personal secretary. There are other officials — in my private office, in the Department's finance, inner cities and planning divisions and regional offices—whose duties include work relating to sport and recreation, but the time and grades involved vary from year to year depending on particular issues which arise.