§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the latest figures available for the annual total cost of the public sector work force; and what is the average annual cost for an employee in (a) the Civil Service, (b) the National Health Service, (c) local government and (d) a public corporation.
§ Mr. Peter ReesThe best available estimate of the total cost of the public sector work force is income from employment in the central Government, local authorities and public corporations sectors, shown in table 1.10—and table 9.4 for the National Health Service—of the National Income and Expenditure Blue Book, 1983 edition. Numbers employed at mid-year on a head count basis are shown in table 1.12 of the Blue Book, but it is not possible to calculate meaningful averages, mainly because of the difficulty of allowing for part-time work. Figures for the Civil Service are given in my memorandum on the Estimates.