§ Mr. BettsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the number of civil servants in his Department who could be relocated to provincial centres as part of the policy of devolving and decentralising Government Departments.
§ Mr. HowardThe need for civil servants in my Department to be located in central London is kept under review, in accordance with Government policy. We continue therefore to look for further opportunities to move posts to other parts of the country, in addition to looking at the suitability of posts to be moved to docklands.