§ Mr. Maddenasked the hon. Member for Berwick upon Tweed, as representing the House of Commons Commission how many staff in the House of Commons are now employed on a temporary basis; how that number compares with the same period in each of the last five years; how many staff have been made redundant in each of the last five years; how many full-time posts are occupied by staff recruited through, or employed by private contractors; and what are the equivalent figures in each of the last five years.
§ Mr. BeithThe number of staff employed on a temporary basis on 1 April in each of the last five years was as follows:
Number 1982 20 1983 23 1984 28 1985 44 1986 27 There were no redundancies in this period. On occasions staff from a secretarial agency are employed for short periods. In the Refreshment Department shortfalls in staff are covered on a day-to-day basis by the employment of agency staff and in the summer eight additional agency staff are employed on the Terrace. None of the agency staff occupy a full-time post on a permanent basis. There has been no significant variation in these arrangements over the last five years.