§ Mr. AdleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many people in his Department are involved in planning and safety issues in(a) roads and (b) railways;
(2) how many people in his Department, including regional officers, are involved in all matters relating to (a) roads, (h) railways and (c) other.
§ Mr. Atkins[holding answer 19 March 1990]: I regret that the information is not available in precisely the form requested. However, the Department's staff are deployed broadly as follows:
Staff Highways (including Buses/Taxi Policy) 550 Road Safety 100 Freight (including Traffic Examiners) 300 Regional Offices 1,500 Traffic Area Staff (excluding those counted elsewhere, for example driving examiners) 1,000 Railways (including Railway Inspectorate) 200 Transport and Road Research Laboratory 600 Driving Standards Agency 2,000 Vehicle Inspection Agency 1,600 Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency 5,500 Aviation 350 Shipping 950 Others (includes senior staff; management support services, personnel, economics and statistics, international work etc.) 1,800 Broad Total1 16,500 1 Rounded to nearest 500. The numbers of staff engaged in safety or planning-related work cannot readily he assessed. However, it should be borne in mind that in addition to its general policy responsibilities the Department has an executive function in relation to trunk roads which it does not have for railways and other forms of transport, for which the operators are themselves responsible.