HC Deb 12 June 1985 vol 80 cc438-9W
Mr. Nicholas Brown

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many professionally qualified lawyers are at present employed in the Civil Service in a capacity relevant to their profession; in which Departments; and on what grades or remuneration.

Mr. Hayhoe

No information is held centrally on either the professional qualification of civil servants or the exact nature of their work. There are however, certain posts in the open structure in other grades where a legal qualification is required and whose members are engaged in legal work.

The table shows the distribution of such staff by department and by grade (or equivalent). In addition, there are professionally qualified lawyers elsewhere in the Civil Service who may be engaged on legal work. This information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost and effort.

Grade or Equivalent*
Department Grade1 Grade2 Grade3 Grade4 Grade5 Grade6 Senior Legal Assistant Principal Legal Assistant All
Land Registry — 1 — — 14 — 48 — 23 86
Lord Chancellor's Department†; 2 4 19 — 20 6 61 14 22 148
Law Officers' Department — 1 1 — 3 — 4 — — 9
Director of Public Prosecutions 1 1 3 — 11 — 51 — 8 75
Trade and Industry — 1 3 — 16 — 31 — 6 57
Treasury Solicitor's Department 1 1 7 — 31 — 97 — 11 148
Welsh Office — — 1 — 3 — 9 — 1 14
Scottish Office — 1 1 — 10 — 28 — 2 42
Scottish Courts Administration — — — — 3 — 9 — — 12
Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service — 1 2 — 24 29 94 6 56 212
Lord Advocate's Department — 1 4 — 5 — 1 — — 11
All 4 22 59 2 219 35 650 20 177 1,188
* Certain posts attract a higher salary than the official maximum for the grade or grade level.
† Includes the Lord Chancellor's Department (LCD), Law Commission, Public Trustee Office and parliamentary counsel. LCD provides the civil service support staff for parliamentary counsel, although the cost of parliamentary counsel themselves is financed jointly by the LCD and the Cabinet Office.

Sources:

Annual Post Return, 1 April 1985.

senior Open Structure List, April 1985.

Mandate, 1 January 1985.

Centrally Managed Staff Records, June 1985.