§ Mr. HardyTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the total number of complaints and representations dealt with by the Gas Consumers Council and by its predecessors in each of the last 10 years.
§ Mr. Forth[holding answer 19 February 1990]: The information is as follows:
Complaints Inquiries 1979–80 35,300 — 1980–81 28,000 — 1981–82 27,400 — 1982–83 28,200 — 1983–84 27,700 — 1984–85 27,000 — 1985–86 29,000 — 1987 26,400 64,400 1988 27,500 77,000 1989 21,400 66,000 Prior to 1987 and the setting up of the new Gas Consumers Council, statistics on the number of inquiries were not maintained. Moreover the statistics on the number of complaints are not directly comparable due to the different recording basis which took effect when the Gas Consumers Council was established.
§ Mr. HardyTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the total cost of wages and salaries and the total budget in each of the last 10 years for the Gas 619W Consumers Council and of its predecessors the National Gas Consumers Council and the regional gas consumers councils.
§ Mr. Forth[holding answer 19 February 1990]: The information is as follows:
Salaries Total budget £000 £000 1980–81 831 1,207 1981–82 913 1,355 1982–83 1,075 1,535 1983–84 1,088 1,585 1984–85 1,212 1,635 1985–86 1,294 1,710 1986–87 1,130 2,050 1987–88 1,034 1,918 1988–89 1,078 2,215 1989–90 1,129 2,212 The new Gas Consumers Council was set up in August 1986 and additional expenses of £588,000 and £700,000 were incurred in 1986–87 and 1987–88 respectively on setting up costs.
The total budget figures are not comparable: post 1986 the figures include accommodation costs. Prior to this date such costs were borne on the main departmental account and cannot be identified separately.