§ Mr. DobsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list for 1979, 1984 and the most recent year the numbers of staff by grade in the statistical divisions in his Department; and if he will differentiate between staff in the statistical posts and staff in administrative posts.
§ Mrs. RumboldThe staff-in-post figures for the Department's statistics branch for 1 April 1979, 1984 and 1988 were as follows:
Grade 1 April 19791 1 April 19842 1 April 1988 3 1 1 1 5 1 1 — Chief statistician 2 2 2 6 1 1 — 7 5 3 1 Statistician 8.5 7 8 Principal research officer 1 1 1 SEO 15 13 3 Senior assistant/assistant statistician 3 3 4 HEO 38 36 19.5 EO 64 65 35 Senior personal secretary/PS 5 6 3 AO 66 37 22 AA 55 8 12 Senior data processor 11 11 — Data processor 57 52 — 1 The figures for 1979 include a number of clerical posts which were later transferred to the Department's Pensions Branch; these cannot readily be identified. 2 In 1984 the DES Statistics Branch still formed part of a larger branch together with the Department's Computing Services divisions. Computing posts were later transferred to a new Information Technology Branch; the posts transferred cannot readily be identified.