§ Mr. SpearingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will state the numbers of staff of the metropolitan and south eastern traffic commissioners, respectively, and the number he expects to staff the proposed south eastern and metropolitan traffic commissioners; how many posts will be eliminated over the range of their functions; and if he will give a breakdown of the expected sum of annual saving in public expenditure.
§ Mr. ChopeThere are 96.5 and 77 complemented staff posts respectively in the metropolitan and south eastern traffic area offices. The planned complement for the new combined south eastern and metropolitan traffic area office is 68 staff. This will reflect the transfer of work between traffic area offices in London, Eastbourne, Bristol and Cambridge. It will also take account of the transfer of staff and responsibility for road traffic enforcement to the Vehicle Inspectorate executive agency on 1 April 1991, and also the transfer of responsibility for vocational driver licensing to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency—DVLA—on the same date.
The savings arising from the redistribution of work in the TAOs should amount to about £650,000 per year of which some £380,000 comes from the closure of the metropolitan traffic area office.