§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many staff of the Property Services Agency are currently working in Hastings; and how many Property Services Agency staff it is anticipated will work in Hastings in each of the next three years;
(2) what efforts he has made to find alternative Government work for those Property Services Agency staff at Hastings whom the Property Services Agency will no longer require; and what the results of those efforts have been so far;
(3) whether he will make it his policy that sufficient Government work will be transferred to Hastings for Property Services Agency staff made surplus by the current reorganisation and preparation for privatisation.
§ Mr. Christopher Chope[holding answer 22 January 1990]: At 1 January 1990 PSA services employed 1,265 non-industrial staff at Hastings. It is not possible to forecast future staff numbers since these will depend partly on how much work the agency is able to win in competition after it is untied on 1 April 1990 and partly on decisions about where some of the agency's activities will be located.
Other Government Departments have been asked whether they have work which could be transferred to Hastings, to provide employment for the staff PSA will be releasing there. One Department has already expressed interest and we are hoping for more.